This time my blog will be short. Well it all started off with my bad habit (being late sometimes) that started all of it. Well now i will really try to be on time for everything I have to go to. I don't know if any of you guys know this.. but I'm on tracking rite now. For those who don't know what tracking is, you get this sheet from the office at school and you have to be on time for every class and finish your homework and etc. You only get this sheet if you're late a certain number of times. I'm not really sure how I got this tracking sheet but i did. It is soooo weird cuz i looked at my number of lates and mine wasn't that many because it only filled up like 1 quarter of the page while I saw other ppl's lates filled up one whole page. But I've been thinking.. maybe this is a punishment from God. Today in drama class people were like you're still on tracking and I was like yup, it's a punishment from God and I literally meant that. I still have one more day to go, but I definately learned my lesson there.
-sherm
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Two steps forward and one step back
I bet you didn't know that I'm afraid of holidays. I'm afraid of holidays because most of them come with a personal "attack" on my faith. Christmas and Easter- I know that's my fault. I have a hindrance that's preventing me from going to service that I can't explain, so when my mom questions me about it, I lie and say that service is at another, larger church in a farther location. Then I get a slight lecture about these holidays being the holiest, which I know. I didn't expect this lecture to come on Mother's Day though. So I didn't get my mom anything, and I was especially bitter and irritated by the fact that she was expecting something- and openly said it. A while after, she said something along the lines of, "you go to church- shouldn't you be more considerate?" And I just stared at my food. Like all the other times this has happened to me, I didn't know how to respond...to this especially. My actions totally do not reflect the church. I thought about it, and I must admit that I'm not big enough to admit that it's just my problem. This incident has caused me to realize that when situations like this arise, I suck at apologetics. At this point, it's probably not even a matter of knowing what to say, it's a matter of having the courage to say it. However, I am glad that I realized this.
On a better note, I just finished having a good chat with one of my friends and I was inspired to blog. I was saying how I was inspired to be more forgiving. For you Samuel people, I don't know if you remember the video "Baggage", but there was a line from that that really stuck with me. It was something along the lines of, "what if God said 'I can't forgive you- what you did was just too horrible'". I can honestly say that I've let go and forgiven people who hurt me, now I'm just sorry that I wasted time by not realizing this sooner. My friend's in a similar situation, and I'm glad I found the time to share this with her. So then, we also talked about how we take our relationship with God for granted- like that concept of praying when we need something. And we're both thankful that we have the privilege to be with a group of friends where most people are Christians. There's no doubt in my mind that things would be very different if I hadn't fallen with this group.
My goals for before/during university: Stay strong about my faith. Learn to stand up. Remember this feeling.
I titled this entry "Two steps forward and one step back" because I feel like those two steps are coming to the realization that I need to strengthen my faith and having the feeling of being thankful for being forgiven. My one step back is not yet being strong or brave enough to stand up for my faith. I'm sure this will arise again, so hopefully then I can do something about it.
Yours truly,
Sabrina
On a better note, I just finished having a good chat with one of my friends and I was inspired to blog. I was saying how I was inspired to be more forgiving. For you Samuel people, I don't know if you remember the video "Baggage", but there was a line from that that really stuck with me. It was something along the lines of, "what if God said 'I can't forgive you- what you did was just too horrible'". I can honestly say that I've let go and forgiven people who hurt me, now I'm just sorry that I wasted time by not realizing this sooner. My friend's in a similar situation, and I'm glad I found the time to share this with her. So then, we also talked about how we take our relationship with God for granted- like that concept of praying when we need something. And we're both thankful that we have the privilege to be with a group of friends where most people are Christians. There's no doubt in my mind that things would be very different if I hadn't fallen with this group.
My goals for before/during university: Stay strong about my faith. Learn to stand up. Remember this feeling.
I titled this entry "Two steps forward and one step back" because I feel like those two steps are coming to the realization that I need to strengthen my faith and having the feeling of being thankful for being forgiven. My one step back is not yet being strong or brave enough to stand up for my faith. I'm sure this will arise again, so hopefully then I can do something about it.
Yours truly,
Sabrina
Praise the Lord :D
Okay, so I just feel like blogging so that'll encourage you to.
So today I really felt that God's working in our lives. I have this friend who's still waiting for her uni acceptances. It's been kinda nerve wrecking for her (and me) because the deadline to accept an offer is in 2 weeks-ish, and if you dont have any offeres.. you're kinda screwed. So for a while i've been praying for her because i know she can do it. But the thing is.. she applied to really hardcore programs. Her marks aren't bad, just not good enough for such hard core stuffs. So today at lunch, she tells me she got an alternate offer! Hey, it's still good! She was telling me how she was getting a bit desperate, y'know. And she asked God to hurry and give her SOMETHING. And she even went to a point to negotiating with God, in a way. "God, if you do this, I'll..." And I'm sure many of us have done the same thing. But she told me how she realizes that's not the way to get things from God, but she's just very relieved that God's opened a door for her. It wasn't her first (nor second, i think), but no matter what, God's gonna give us the best that he thinks. This reminds me of something that we talked bout in t4c last week. This guy was telling us how God doesn't work the way people work, etc. and how our attitude should be "God, I'll follow You EVEN IF ... " instead of "If You gimme this, THEN I'll..." I thought that was a really great reminder of how important our faith is, and how we definately need to know God before we can follow Him. :)
So the verse i was talking about last week ( i think?) is found in proverbs. I read it a few days ago in devo:
"In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps." Proverbs 16:9
I hope your spiritual journey's going well. It'd be great if you blogged about it :P
-a.
So today I really felt that God's working in our lives. I have this friend who's still waiting for her uni acceptances. It's been kinda nerve wrecking for her (and me) because the deadline to accept an offer is in 2 weeks-ish, and if you dont have any offeres.. you're kinda screwed. So for a while i've been praying for her because i know she can do it. But the thing is.. she applied to really hardcore programs. Her marks aren't bad, just not good enough for such hard core stuffs. So today at lunch, she tells me she got an alternate offer! Hey, it's still good! She was telling me how she was getting a bit desperate, y'know. And she asked God to hurry and give her SOMETHING. And she even went to a point to negotiating with God, in a way. "God, if you do this, I'll..." And I'm sure many of us have done the same thing. But she told me how she realizes that's not the way to get things from God, but she's just very relieved that God's opened a door for her. It wasn't her first (nor second, i think), but no matter what, God's gonna give us the best that he thinks. This reminds me of something that we talked bout in t4c last week. This guy was telling us how God doesn't work the way people work, etc. and how our attitude should be "God, I'll follow You EVEN IF ... " instead of "If You gimme this, THEN I'll..." I thought that was a really great reminder of how important our faith is, and how we definately need to know God before we can follow Him. :)
So the verse i was talking about last week ( i think?) is found in proverbs. I read it a few days ago in devo:
"In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps." Proverbs 16:9
I hope your spiritual journey's going well. It'd be great if you blogged about it :P
-a.
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
look, another blog!
yeah, im just blogging cause there's been a roll of posts. i like this. :)
So guys, come to the concert on WED, may 6, 7:00pm at aci. (midland/sheppard) it's gonna be really good, and it's jackie's and my last concert, it'd be cool to see you guys there :)
So today we were just chilling with martine and tom, our coaches from TC. it was pretty fun, cause we were just sitting there, just chatting away. i think it's kinda out of the ordinary, and at first i was kinda hesitant to go because i had to go to the concert at 6:30 and since there was just so little time, i felt that it was gonna be a waste of time. But it turned out to be just a relaxing, chilling time. and it kinda reminds me of how we spend time with God. I mean, sometimes we go like "oh.. it's already midnight, i'll do devo tmr night instead." or in the morning "oh.. i only have 5 minutes to spare.. nah, it's not enough for me to do devo/pray." And we were dicussing this during t4c one day, and we concluded that no matter how much time you have, that shouldn't prevent you from reading God's word. I mean, it should be the number 1 priority on your list, and everything else should come after. Perhaps a few minutes of reading the Bible could get your day started in a different way, change our perspective for the day.
I'm gonna try that one day. :) I'll let you know how it goes.
--a.
So guys, come to the concert on WED, may 6, 7:00pm at aci. (midland/sheppard) it's gonna be really good, and it's jackie's and my last concert, it'd be cool to see you guys there :)
So today we were just chilling with martine and tom, our coaches from TC. it was pretty fun, cause we were just sitting there, just chatting away. i think it's kinda out of the ordinary, and at first i was kinda hesitant to go because i had to go to the concert at 6:30 and since there was just so little time, i felt that it was gonna be a waste of time. But it turned out to be just a relaxing, chilling time. and it kinda reminds me of how we spend time with God. I mean, sometimes we go like "oh.. it's already midnight, i'll do devo tmr night instead." or in the morning "oh.. i only have 5 minutes to spare.. nah, it's not enough for me to do devo/pray." And we were dicussing this during t4c one day, and we concluded that no matter how much time you have, that shouldn't prevent you from reading God's word. I mean, it should be the number 1 priority on your list, and everything else should come after. Perhaps a few minutes of reading the Bible could get your day started in a different way, change our perspective for the day.
I'm gonna try that one day. :) I'll let you know how it goes.
--a.
This is why we blog.
I must say that I've been VERY excited to blog about this one.
First of all, I might sound like a creeper for this. But on the plane coming back to Toronto, I was sitting beside a woman who was using her laptop. So my eyes kind of...wander. She plugged in her iPod so her iTunes popped up, and I like seeing what kind of music people listen to because I think that it says something about someone. So I'm blind, and didn't want to stare, so I saw the word "God" in one of the songs. So alright. Then she opened her documents, and I saw the word "sermons". So I'm kinda growing interest. I told you this would make me sound creepy. Then she opened something up, and by looking at it, I can tell it's a journal. Not just any journal, a SPIRITUAL JOURNAL. like this blog.
I really liked her format and how she approached the journal. She used a variety of ways. I really liked how she kind of wrote a "letter to God" as I call it because it would start off with a question like "God, what are you trying to tell me about ______?" then she would write out her thoughts about the issue. I also found her list format interesting. First, she would have something like "My hopes for the future", then after that list would be "What God wants for my future". That's an awesome way to compare. There was quite a bit about what she wants, then what God wants. I think that's really thoughtful because you can visibly see where priorities lie.
I was also kind of inspired by the fact that she's in or around university age (i saw the word OSAP) because I kind of have the mindset that it takes half a lifetime to be this committed, but realisticly, steps and depth are different for everyone. But i did find it interesting that she was in university because it's so close to our age, so c'mon guys, we can do it! it's not like she blogged EVERY day. Probably just when something was on her mind, which was even once a month sometimes. At the end of this, I swear that I had the urge to thank her, but that's way weird. So I settled for letting her use my tray table so nothing spilled on her laptop. haha. Oh, and I'm guessing that she was looking over her journal in order to gain some perspective about something using her past journals- that's why we started this!
Anyway, in conclusion:
-BLOG BLOG BLOG!!
-Lists and letters are a good way to organize thoughts
-Blogging doesn't have to be very frequent, but please blog occassionally.
I'll blog using that format soon.
Sabrina
First of all, I might sound like a creeper for this. But on the plane coming back to Toronto, I was sitting beside a woman who was using her laptop. So my eyes kind of...wander. She plugged in her iPod so her iTunes popped up, and I like seeing what kind of music people listen to because I think that it says something about someone. So I'm blind, and didn't want to stare, so I saw the word "God" in one of the songs. So alright. Then she opened her documents, and I saw the word "sermons". So I'm kinda growing interest. I told you this would make me sound creepy. Then she opened something up, and by looking at it, I can tell it's a journal. Not just any journal, a SPIRITUAL JOURNAL. like this blog.
I really liked her format and how she approached the journal. She used a variety of ways. I really liked how she kind of wrote a "letter to God" as I call it because it would start off with a question like "God, what are you trying to tell me about ______?" then she would write out her thoughts about the issue. I also found her list format interesting. First, she would have something like "My hopes for the future", then after that list would be "What God wants for my future". That's an awesome way to compare. There was quite a bit about what she wants, then what God wants. I think that's really thoughtful because you can visibly see where priorities lie.
I was also kind of inspired by the fact that she's in or around university age (i saw the word OSAP) because I kind of have the mindset that it takes half a lifetime to be this committed, but realisticly, steps and depth are different for everyone. But i did find it interesting that she was in university because it's so close to our age, so c'mon guys, we can do it! it's not like she blogged EVERY day. Probably just when something was on her mind, which was even once a month sometimes. At the end of this, I swear that I had the urge to thank her, but that's way weird. So I settled for letting her use my tray table so nothing spilled on her laptop. haha. Oh, and I'm guessing that she was looking over her journal in order to gain some perspective about something using her past journals- that's why we started this!
Anyway, in conclusion:
-BLOG BLOG BLOG!!
-Lists and letters are a good way to organize thoughts
-Blogging doesn't have to be very frequent, but please blog occassionally.
I'll blog using that format soon.
Sabrina
Forever 3:16
So along my trip, I made sure to remember the things I noticed/experienced. First of all, I've never noticed this in Toronto- or maybe it's just present in the States, but at the bottom of Forever 21 bags is 'John 3:16'.
"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life."
I must admit that I'm not the best at all at memorizing verses, and I haven't looked at this one in a while. At first, I thought that the verse might have something to do with ethics that connects to a company policy. Upon further research (as in, looking up the passage), my thought is that it's simple and smart outreach. 'John 3:16' being printed on the bag doesn't take up much space, and it's subtle enough so that those that get easily offended by religion are okay with it. And who knows how many people actually search it up. I just thought it was awesome how the owners are using the store's fame for good.
Secondly, we were in an Italian restaurant whose placemats were of important dates for a few months, and one of the dates was Lent. It doesn't really seem like a big thing, but for me, I find it kind of amusing when I see things like this because society's so like, "don't talk about religion because it's politically incorrect". So i just like when I see religious references (small or big) out in the open like that. Maybe I'm just noticing it more when I go on vacation, and it's no secret that they're more religious in the States, but man. It makes Canada seem so restricting. It's kind of funny how equality all of a sudden became a taboo for religion.
Just a small sharing. More to come,
Sabrina
"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life."
I must admit that I'm not the best at all at memorizing verses, and I haven't looked at this one in a while. At first, I thought that the verse might have something to do with ethics that connects to a company policy. Upon further research (as in, looking up the passage), my thought is that it's simple and smart outreach. 'John 3:16' being printed on the bag doesn't take up much space, and it's subtle enough so that those that get easily offended by religion are okay with it. And who knows how many people actually search it up. I just thought it was awesome how the owners are using the store's fame for good.
Secondly, we were in an Italian restaurant whose placemats were of important dates for a few months, and one of the dates was Lent. It doesn't really seem like a big thing, but for me, I find it kind of amusing when I see things like this because society's so like, "don't talk about religion because it's politically incorrect". So i just like when I see religious references (small or big) out in the open like that. Maybe I'm just noticing it more when I go on vacation, and it's no secret that they're more religious in the States, but man. It makes Canada seem so restricting. It's kind of funny how equality all of a sudden became a taboo for religion.
Just a small sharing. More to come,
Sabrina
Monday, May 4, 2009
the days of old...
Hey...
so i m blogging here... cause i feel obligated to i suppose... cause i havent been blogging here or on the uni-page... and i feel a sense of conviction that i need to invest myself into ur lives more and read about what's going on w/ ur lives. cause the last 2 blogs r long and i just get turned off by long blog entries... but dont let that discouraging u from typing long ones... i will make more of an effort to read them because i value ur experiences and struggles as a Christian.
Something I've been noticing is that looking at you guys, it reminds me a lot of the things that we, the UNI group, went through when we were in samuel.. first, is our tardiness... we were often late because we. as a group, justified it by saying, "o it doesnt start till 8:20" so we all just kept pushing it later and later... and 2nd, worship leader would always do some spontaneous song choices, picking the day of because we have Christine and she can play anything... and we took that for granted...
Yes, i m jumping straight to the point because there's no point in me beating around the bush and i dont know how to.... i pray that you guys r noticing too... when we were part of samuel, we raised it up as a group... we talked about it, said, "no, it's not right... there's no respect on our part for God if we keep doing this" .... so we worked on it... I believe you guys need to do something similar... i dont expect you guys to change over night... and one thing i wouldnt like is u guys being on time because i've just raised it and then couple weeks down the road, returning to old habits... Tina and I would not like to keep having to talk and nag at you guys about it... you guys r growing and maturing quickly these days and we want to treat you as maturing adults..
secondly, with regards to worship, I can understand if you guys REALLY REALLY like Cry in my Heart... and I can understand you want to choose it if you have a good sharing with it... but i believe there are many songs out there to be chosen and share about the same sharing.. cause from my perspective, it shows a lack of creativity and willingness to spend time and look for songs to share with one another... and it gives me the impression that the guitarist knows this song the best so they dont need to practice, and hence, if Cry in my Heart is chosen, it will go well during worship.... but in doing so, the quality of singspiration gets taken away... i believe if different songs are chosen, it keeps things fresh, everyone gets exposed to different songs and the instrumentalists get to learn and practice new songs.... i challenge you to spend more time preparing to for worship... and not just doing it cause ur name is in the slot for that day... i challenge you to think of why you're doing it... and with the summer coming up, "i dont have enough time to prepare" is not a justifiable excuse for the lack preparation... if we are to offer our best to God, don't you think we should prepare? a team does not make it to the finals without practice, a band can not play at concerts without practice, i dont see how we can worship our God without practice...
my suggestion is that the worship leader should communicate with his/her instrumentalist a week before.... so the instrumentalist can have adequate time to practice..
ok, it's late... almost 2 and i have work tomorrow... hopefully fellowship can start more promptly this coming friday... and i will try my best to be there at 5.... but in the case that i come at my regular time, i hope singspiration is not just beginning...
- J Lo
p.s amy, please send all emails to jlokine@gmail.com... i dont know where you've been sending emails to cause i havent been getting any....
so i m blogging here... cause i feel obligated to i suppose... cause i havent been blogging here or on the uni-page... and i feel a sense of conviction that i need to invest myself into ur lives more and read about what's going on w/ ur lives. cause the last 2 blogs r long and i just get turned off by long blog entries... but dont let that discouraging u from typing long ones... i will make more of an effort to read them because i value ur experiences and struggles as a Christian.
Something I've been noticing is that looking at you guys, it reminds me a lot of the things that we, the UNI group, went through when we were in samuel.. first, is our tardiness... we were often late because we. as a group, justified it by saying, "o it doesnt start till 8:20" so we all just kept pushing it later and later... and 2nd, worship leader would always do some spontaneous song choices, picking the day of because we have Christine and she can play anything... and we took that for granted...
Yes, i m jumping straight to the point because there's no point in me beating around the bush and i dont know how to.... i pray that you guys r noticing too... when we were part of samuel, we raised it up as a group... we talked about it, said, "no, it's not right... there's no respect on our part for God if we keep doing this" .... so we worked on it... I believe you guys need to do something similar... i dont expect you guys to change over night... and one thing i wouldnt like is u guys being on time because i've just raised it and then couple weeks down the road, returning to old habits... Tina and I would not like to keep having to talk and nag at you guys about it... you guys r growing and maturing quickly these days and we want to treat you as maturing adults..
secondly, with regards to worship, I can understand if you guys REALLY REALLY like Cry in my Heart... and I can understand you want to choose it if you have a good sharing with it... but i believe there are many songs out there to be chosen and share about the same sharing.. cause from my perspective, it shows a lack of creativity and willingness to spend time and look for songs to share with one another... and it gives me the impression that the guitarist knows this song the best so they dont need to practice, and hence, if Cry in my Heart is chosen, it will go well during worship.... but in doing so, the quality of singspiration gets taken away... i believe if different songs are chosen, it keeps things fresh, everyone gets exposed to different songs and the instrumentalists get to learn and practice new songs.... i challenge you to spend more time preparing to for worship... and not just doing it cause ur name is in the slot for that day... i challenge you to think of why you're doing it... and with the summer coming up, "i dont have enough time to prepare" is not a justifiable excuse for the lack preparation... if we are to offer our best to God, don't you think we should prepare? a team does not make it to the finals without practice, a band can not play at concerts without practice, i dont see how we can worship our God without practice...
my suggestion is that the worship leader should communicate with his/her instrumentalist a week before.... so the instrumentalist can have adequate time to practice..
ok, it's late... almost 2 and i have work tomorrow... hopefully fellowship can start more promptly this coming friday... and i will try my best to be there at 5.... but in the case that i come at my regular time, i hope singspiration is not just beginning...
- J Lo
p.s amy, please send all emails to jlokine@gmail.com... i dont know where you've been sending emails to cause i havent been getting any....
Sunday, May 3, 2009
Luggage
As demanded by Tina, here are the reflection questions based on the clip we saw last week. Feel free to watch it again and comment even if you weren't there! :D
http://www.esnips.com/doc/8205edd1-638c-491b-8b3a-0e0b688cb481/Luggage--Rob-Bell
"You thought you were over it but now you're more into it than ever and the wound is reopened and it hurts more than ever, and then it becomes a day or a week or 10 years later and now it's become a part of you"
Q: What are some of your wounds? How have they shaped who you are today?
"...revenge becomes our only hope"
Q: When was a time when you got revenge for something? How did you feel? Do you think you were telling God that you can handle it better than He?
"The eyes of the Lord are everywhere..."
Q: Do you trust that God is ultimately going to take care of everything?
"You know what? You don’t understand. What they did to me is so horrible, I can never forgive them. But what if God said that?"
Q: How have you experienced God's forgiveness? Knowing this, how can that help you to forgiving others?
"Maybe forgiveness is ultimately about you and me, it's about us. Because when i forgive something and I set them free, it's like I'm really setting myself free."
Q: Do you believe this statement? That forgiveness is really more about the forgiving than the forgiven? Does this make it easier for you to forgive?
"Forgiving is an action. It's something you do."
Q: Is there anyone that you need to forgive right now? Share.
Now there's no excuse not to blog! haha. :D
-a.
http://www.esnips.com/doc/8205edd1-638c-491b-8b3a-0e0b688cb481/Luggage--Rob-Bell
"You thought you were over it but now you're more into it than ever and the wound is reopened and it hurts more than ever, and then it becomes a day or a week or 10 years later and now it's become a part of you"
Q: What are some of your wounds? How have they shaped who you are today?
"...revenge becomes our only hope"
Q: When was a time when you got revenge for something? How did you feel? Do you think you were telling God that you can handle it better than He?
"The eyes of the Lord are everywhere..."
Q: Do you trust that God is ultimately going to take care of everything?
"You know what? You don’t understand. What they did to me is so horrible, I can never forgive them. But what if God said that?"
Q: How have you experienced God's forgiveness? Knowing this, how can that help you to forgiving others?
"Maybe forgiveness is ultimately about you and me, it's about us. Because when i forgive something and I set them free, it's like I'm really setting myself free."
Q: Do you believe this statement? That forgiveness is really more about the forgiving than the forgiven? Does this make it easier for you to forgive?
"Forgiving is an action. It's something you do."
Q: Is there anyone that you need to forgive right now? Share.
Now there's no excuse not to blog! haha. :D
-a.
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