The best places

I think everyone has certain places where they simply see God better.  If I'm eating, I'm in a good place, but I'm definitely in no place to think and I honestly don't really pay much attention to God, only the good food he's given me.

Here are my best places where I realized that put me in position to see God more.
1. In the car - Recently got a new Honda Fit to replace my precious 95 Saturn SL.  Good mileage was important, yes to save money, but I guess it also is beneficial because I think best in the car and so if I drive alot, I better get good gas mileage too.  The car really allows me to think better and it doesn't matter whether I was in the old clunky car or my new ride... it's just a place of solitude away from the world yet where I can still see what's going on around me.  I realized this the other week when I just couldn't pray.  Was driving to the gym, which is literally only a few miles away and in those few minutes, I realized God may be around me after all...and out of my stupor I went.

2. On the treadmill or on the pavement - I can honestly pray forever and for everything when I'm on a run. And God works in me and can just change my bad attitudes.   I think Kevin's realized this because I'll often ask him "Do you think I should go to the gym?" He thinks about it and then tells me "Yeah you should go. You like going to the gym." Probably because whether angry, raged, confused, or unmotivated, I have a good amount of uninterrupted time and somehow I always get a glimpse of God, his love, or maybe the joy of endorphins.   It's one of the best times where I feel like I can easily and actually talk with God. What's odd is that while most people dread the tread (aka dreadmill), it does me much good. Maybe it's the even cadence that gets me in a place where God can talk to me, or maybe just the fact that I don't have a running buddy to talk to.

3. In a new place - There's something about new places that really gives me a fresh perspective.  There's many places I'm familiar with but when I go to a new environment, a new state, a dangerous new place, and venture or explore even in my own neighborhood or into a new situation, I am challenged and also introduced to something I've never experienced before. One thing about going to church all the time is it becomes an old place and sometimes we just live there and then stay there.  It can get boring and eventually you see God least in church because it's so familiar.  You're not stretched, scared, or in need of God and thus, I'm beginning to see how important it is for me to take the opportunities God gives me to go somewhere new, try something new, do something risky, and just find Him more.

The sadness

I heard on WTOP yesterday that 200,000 people are reported dead in Haiti. That's a whole lot of people and more than I would ever know.  If I was born in Haiti, it's highly likely that all the people I know, friends, acquaintances, and basically my entire environment would be wiped out completely.  I don't even know what i would do put in that situation.  And I guess events or death tolls like this puts things into perspective for me.  When sadness is tearing away at people and simply overwhelming, I think it's so strong that people across the world can feel that same sadness, and as you get closer to Haiti, I'm sure the grief and the loss intensifies.   


While surfing on Facebook last night, I found out with sadness that this missionary kid I had met on a trip to Taiwan in 5th grade got in a fatal car accident yesterday and passed soon after.  She was one year younger than myself, and apparently on her way to work, as a 4th grade teacher.   I only met her less than a handful of times.  From the time I met her in 5th grade to the time we visited their family in the U.S, I remember that she had a lot of joy, a lot of smiles that made our visits very comfortable and enjoyable too.  If she lived near me, I'd probably want to be her friend because she was one of those genuinely cheery souls, and it only took a matter of seconds to realize this.  She passed away in a matter of seconds and without any warning. 


Yesterday, as I drove home from work I saw this middle aged man walking home on the sidewalk with his groceries.  He had three long rolls of italian or french bread along with other groceries and as I waited at a red light, I saw that one of the rolls slipped out of its clear plastic cover and touched the concrete in its bare skin.  As he realized what had occurred, I could feel the sadness there.  It was a long piece of bread, but things like that can turn a day sour.  


Death and funerals and even italian rolls can make people live their days in sadness, but I was thinking that at least in sadness, we begin to take notice of people that we may never have even lay a thought on.  We become more aware, we recall and remember, and we come to know people just a bit more.  

Spinning and spinning

In the year of 2010 and I decided to be a so called "risktaker" and to try new things.  Now I thought that after I wrote a letter to Oprah, that she'd actually call me or write me back soon, but apparently, she's a little busy. So in the meantime, I'm still trying new things. YESTERDAY, I decided to make something for my husband, since he's been sick and I haven't been too disciplined in providing him with food.  So I made chili! Is that new?  Well, not really because I've eaten it many times, BUT I've never made it myself.  So yesterday I called my sister up and ventured to put some food on the table.

This week I also decided to try the spinning class at my new gym.  Typically, for an little Asian like myself, I can get some anxiety when going to class alone. I mean even when I took swimming lesson at the Y when I was younger, my mom got two friends to join swimming class with me. This way, I could have one friend sit on each side and I wouldn't bail out or waste my mom's money.  I think I have the perseverance and persistence of lion at times and then at other times I'm just pure baby --shy and extremely scared.  Anyways, I took spinning class and went into that class alone and while I had no friends, it was too fun!  They had loud techno music playing that made me almost feel like I was dancing (which I love to do) and it was part of my membership.  What's next? Pilates? Yoga? or ZUMBA?? We'll have to see.  Stay updated...=)