Love & Pray for others

And we urge you, brothers and sisters, warn those who are idle and disruptive, encourage the disheartened, help the weak, be patient with everyone. (1 Thessalonians 5:14 NIV)

Today’s Daily Bread was this verse, and as soon as I was reading this, my friend sent me a DM on Instagram.

“Hannah I need prayers“

I was like God is always so timely! I totally felt the holy spirit was encouraging me and leading me to pray for her. (If you are reading this, love you Sandy!) This morning was so good, because my husband and I worshipped and prayed together for a lot of things. Everything from our friends and family who are struggling, to ministries we are supporting. We prayed for leaders in our church and for every single member in our church to be filled with holy spirit and passion for Jesus. There is such power in prayer & intercession.

In 1 Thessalonians, it talks about these 4 things.

1. Warn those who are lazy or idle.
2. Encourage those who are disheartened.
3. Help the weak (care for them tenderly)
4. Be patient with everyone.

Are we doing this in our daily life? I wonder if we are only so focused in ourselves and our problems that we don’t care to look around. Whenever my life feels busy or hectic, I lose sight of what’s really important. Spending time to love on our neighbors and the Lord. Someone once said this quote to me, and it really made me think.

“If the devil can’t make you sin, he will keep you busy.”

Enemy will throw things your way, all these busy-work to keep you occupied from advancing God’s kingdom. Lately I had to check myself a lot and make sure that I’m not just filling my day up with busy work. That I may have time to help, and encourage others. Or even gently rebuke the ones who are idle. It was such a great reminder this morning to do more of that.

Lord, thank you for reminding us daily, to love you and love others. We sometimes get so caught up in our own life, and focused on “me” and not you. No matter how busy our day is, we want to prioritize you as #1 and then spend time helping and loving on others. Forgive me for being so selfish from time to time. Help me to become more loving and patient with others, Amen.

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A little sleep, a little slumber

A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest, and poverty will come upon you like a robber, and want like an armed man. (Proverbs 6:10-11)

I love sleep, don’t you? I love a little slumber, a little folding of hands to rest.

It is 11:39 pm right now, and I’m racing against the clock to finish this entry because I’m trying to be diligent and faithful in keeping my promise to journal everyday. It’s one of the things God’s been speaking to me about this season, “Discipline and Diligence” God delights the ones who are diligent and blesses them.

The plans of the diligent lead surely to abundance, but everyone who is hasty comes only to poverty. (Proverbs 21:5)

When I read this the first time, I was like “oh! this is definitely about finance”. I felt pretty good about it being a natural born ‘hustler’ lol I have worked multiple jobs since the age of 15, and made good living out of it. But then I started to meditate on this a little more and thought this could also mean us being lazy with our spiritual walk with God.

How many of us are asleep? Taking a nap? During Covid, how many churches are asleep? I started to think about the fruit and the harvest. What is the fruit we’re producing in this season? Are we truly diligent in with our walks with God? spending time with God each day, meditating on his word, and filling our days up with prayer, and loving on our neighbors and spreading the good news of Christ? Or are we being lazy?

Then the poverty comes.

Poor people are always in “need” and they are not the one who can give to others. If we are not filled with the holy spirit and God’s love, we become the poor who constantly needs other peoples help in order to survive. (When it should be us who are helping others and feeding others) We become incompetent. We become inwardly focused and unable to bless others and die for one another, because we are so busy trying to “survive” We are not just talking about finance anymore.

Only out of abundant love of Jesus flowing through us, we can minister to others. But we cannot get there without diligently spending time with the Lord. In his words, prayer, and worship.

I really think accountability in this area is so important, whether it is a small community of people or close friend or in my case, my spouse (my 24/7 accountability partner) helps a lot! Lord thank you so much for the people you’ve placed in my life to keep me accountable, so that I do not fall into the sin of sloth. And from time to time, I totally was being lazy and I repent for not caring enough. I want to spend my time intentionally.

Making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. (Ephesians 5:16)

Days are evil and we cannot waste time anymore. Lord help me to always be mindful of how I spend my time, and more than anything I want to be diligent and faithful in loving you and becoming more like you each day! Amen.

p.s It’s already 12:30 and I know I was supposed to post this yesterday, but have grace on me ❤

The workers are few

Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.” (Matthew 9:37-38)

The word “evangelism” seems to be intimidating to a lot of Christians. Especially during seasons like this, where everyone is “social distancing” we automatically assume it would be tough to evangelize. I think in a way we use Covid as a shield, almost like an excuse to stay in our comfortable bubble and “keep safe”.

Jesus said the harvest is plentiful. So the harvest isn’t an issue. There are so many people in this world that needs to be ministered to and we need to spread the good news of Christ to them. The problem is with the laborers. No one is going out to the field, and why is that? For me, I think it is part fear and part complacency. Evangelism is for missionaries in Cambodia? No, we are all called to spread the Gospel.

He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. (Mark 16:15)

Me, Brian and couple of the people from the church got together and made these “care packages (covid edition)” filled with all the essentials, such as soap, hand sanitizer, masks, mini bible, tissue and couple of snacks, as well as a hand-written card. We wanted to just reach out to people and spread the love of God. 🙂 It was so much fun making these packages and praying for people we can hand this out to.

I gave my care package to a police officer guy who was working outside a large grocery store today, and he kept on saying “God bless you” and I ended up feeling MORE blessed. You would be surprised the huge smile on him, he looked like he just won a lottery. Many people are dying and the depression is rising, if churches are asleep or hiding, who’s going to be the light and hope that can point people to Jesus? No one.

People are desperate for love. Not just any human love but the love of God.

And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” Then I said, “Here am I! Send me.” (Isaiah 6:8)

Here I am God, Send me.

What is love?

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. (1 Corinthians 13:4-7)

Today on Sept. 2nd, I got “legally married” to my husband Brian. Because of the Coronavirus, we had to get married over video call to the state of San Mateo, CA. It was a terribly un-romantic way to get married because the very first thing on this video call the lady who was “officiating” the wedding said was, “It’s gonna be 80 dollars for wedding and 60 dollars for marriage license, we accept VISA or Mastercard.” LOL 😀 I started to chuckle, because I just found it so funny that this is what my legal marriage would look like lol.

Love is a wonderful thing, and we talk about it all the time. But if someone were to ask me what I think love is, I still have a hard time answering that question.

What is love to you?

The famous verse about love in the 1 Corinthians is probably the most cited verse for any marriage ceremony, and also happened to be part of my daily reading today. (Our Daily Bread) How timely is it? That on the day of my legal marriage ceremony, God gave me this exact verse to meditate on?

Interestingly enough, the very first thing this verse said about “what love is” is that love is patient.

Let’s be honest, when you think of love, is “patience” the very first thing that comes to mind? For me, whenever I think of love I think of passion, elation, and excitement. All the butterflies in my stomach. But the bible says otherwise. It talks about how love endures, is not proud, is not easily angered and keeps record of no wrongs. Not exactly all the “giddy feelings” and “having fun” but this is what mature love looks like.

God is Love.

When I read 1 Corinthians, I think of God, and his very nature. God is patient, God is kind. God does not envy, he does not boast, he is not proud. God honors us and he is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. God does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. God always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

How can I love others well? was always a question in my heart, but I think my answer to this is becoming more like Christ through having a close relationship with God. Because he is the source of love.

Lord, I want to be more like you, teach me your ways of love, not the way of this world, but your way. Fill us with your love daily, that we may love others from the overflow of your love, Amen!

Depth of the Pit

I called on your name, Lord, from the depths of the pit. You heard my plea: “Do not close your ears to my cry for relief.” You came near when I called you,

and you said, “Do not fear.” (Lamentations 3:55-57)

I’m a designer, and the latest project I’ve taken on was this children’s book design with illustrations. I’m working with a girl (I think she’s 12 or 13) who wrote a book and gave me hand drawn sketches for me to turn it into a well-designed book that she can potentially publish. There was a part in her book that shocked me at mature her writing was.

One day, I’m gonna escape your clutches and leave this suffocation

And for the illustration, she wanted me to draw a girl crawling out of a pit. I mean is it just me or does this seem super biblical? I don’t think this girl is Christian, but her book made me think that Jesus might already be talking to her.

We all have been in the “Pit” of our own, really. Whether it is self-hatred, depression or addiction that bounds us. But more than that, simply a life’s trial without God’s help, I think that is the Pit. I remember as a teenager growing up, I thought the “Pit” was a cool place to be at. Where no one bothers me, I can wallow in my own sorrow and depression. I wanted to tune out everything so the isolation in the Pit was my choice of coping mechanism. I refused help, refused love, and refused everything good in my life, because I did not know God. There is no water in the pit, (but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him shall never thirst; but the water that I will give him will become in him a well of water springing up to eternal life.” John 4:14) no life, only a glimmer of light at the top of the pit if you decide to look up.

He brought me up out of the pit of destruction, out of the miry clay,
And He set my feet upon a rock making my footsteps firm. (Psalms 40:2)

But Jesus, my savior brought me up and out of the miry clay that was engulfing me whole. He showed me that there is a life that could be filled with joy and love of God. God wants to save us, he wants all of us out of that dark place we’re stuck in, all we need to do is open the door when he knocks, just let him into your heart.

“Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.” (Revelations 3:20)

I said “Come in to my heart” and there he was.

Do not be anxious about anything

Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:6-7)

I took 3 days off work due to the move, and this morning bright and early around 6am, signed back on to my work email. Lo and behold, there were over a hundred new messages and emails. Then two of my freelance clients emailed me about revisions and it was so difficult to understand what they meant. I had so many text messages I needed to reply to and calls to make. I had to sign off on so many tickets and get back to a ton of people who are constantly asking me questions. In addition to all this, I kept on getting kick off of VPN and my computer’s search engine kept on re-directing me to wrong sites due to Malware. Sheeeesh. Talk about Murphy’s Law.

I had non-stop back to back meetings and as the time progressed, I could feel the “angst”. It was creeping up on me. We have so much unpacking and re-organizing to do at the apartment. I sat on my sofa, and went on Instacart to start ordering RIDICULOUS amounts of snacks, 10 boxes of my favorite cereal, twinkies, brownies, cookies, etc. The stress was quite real.

Whenever I get stressed, my husband notices right away, he has this sixth sense that he can just smell my stress from a distance. lol

Do you ever feel so overwhelmed that you cannot function properly? Many people have crutches, things they fall back on, I would say mine is probably sugary snacks. But how many times do we actually fall back on God?

Be still and know that I’m God. (Psalm 46:10)

How many times have I paced back and forth restlessly and stuffed my face with snacks to calm my nerves? How many times did I feel like I wanted to avoid everything and just run away? Why run away? why not run towards my father in heaven instead?

It says in the bible, in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. Have I done this in times when I felt anxious and stressed out? I’ve been depending on myself and my own strength to carry me through, and that’s why I had to struggle so much with stress. (And to be honest, I’m not a type of person who gets stressed so easily)

Lord, I am so thankful that I have a JOB! I have a job I LOVE and I get to make a living in the midst of Pandemic, where unemployment is everywhere. I am truly so grateful, and I don’t know why I’m even thinking that I’m stressed out, because all these things are just so petty! I have a roof over my head and enough to eat on my table daily. I have working limbs and I can see hear, and speak. Nothing hurts in my body and I feel great. I have a wonderful family who loves me so much and a husband that adores me day and night. In-Laws SO wonderful that I consider them as my own parents. Thank you for wonderful friends you’ve sent me who intercedes for me all the time and love on me.

To think of it, I have no other request except the one I constantly pray for. Lord, shape me to be more like you. Amen.

Things of this world

Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. (Ephesians 5:15–16)

I got married recently and my husband and I moved into this new apartment in Orange County. We found this place as a last minute lease-takeover and never seen the apt in person until we actually moved here. (I’ve never done this before) but I was just BLOWN AWAY at how beautiful and luxurious this apt complex was! I was immediately planning all the ways I can decorate this place and invite couple of friends for a housewarming. I was like a little girl giddy and excited all day yesterday, with adult apartment that comes with a fridge that makes ice! (I’ve never had this before, and I LOVE ice, so it was such a treat) I called up 2 of my old friends from this area and scheduled a housewarming this weekend. After that husband and I did a little cheers! and ate some delicious noodle dishes to celebrate our new home. It was like everything seemed so lovely and peachy, I’m living THE LIFE.

This morning, I woke up and the first scripture verse I read was this. And it suddenly hit me like a brick,

What am I doing here?

God has blessed me with this beautiful place to call home for a while, but everything in this life is very temporary and finite. We are here on a mission, and not just to coast through life and have fun. When we talk about YOLO (You Only Live Once), we immediately think of the hedonistic lifestyle because why not enjoy all you can while you are on this earth?

But the YOLO in the bible is you are only on this earth for a short period of time. We have limited amount of time. And the days are evil. We are to become a light that shines throughout the darkest place on this land. We are NOT to be conformed to the pattern of this world, but to be transformed by the renewing of our mind. (Romans 12:2)

So what does that mean and what does that even look like? We have to be very intentional about how we spend our time, and what we do with our resources given from God. How are we stewarding them? I was blessed with a job where I can work remotely and still make a great living, but with that job, what am I doing to advance God’s kingdom? I realized how important it is to spend time in prayer and as for God’s wisdom and guidance in how we need to be living every single day, to truly make an impact to God’s kingdom.

It is so easy to just let a day go by without trying. It is so easy to be comfortable in our little Christian bubble with our Christian friends. But is that what we are called to?

Rise up, you women who are at ease,
And hear my voice;
Give ear to my word,
You complacent daughters. (Isaiah 32:9)

God does not want us to be complacent. He wants us to hear his voice and actually pay attention, and to obey. We are to be salt and light of this earth, and I think it is really time for us to truly run hard after God’s heart, which is people. Bringing people back to God.

The weekend plan quickly changed from a chill housewarming party to a potential start of a revival. I am going to share all the testimonies of what God’s been doing in my life to my 2 friends whom I haven’t seen in a long time. I got more excited than before, because I knew God is going to do something amazing through this hangout. With every hangout or gathering from now on, I want them to be focused on God, and sharing his love to others, encouraging others to run hard as well.

I’m ready to make the most of every opportunity given to me by God. Thank you Lord, for the opportunities, and all the people you’ve brought in to my life. Even in the midst of Coronavirus pandemic, I want to be a faithful steward in all the resources you’ve gifted me with. Use me, and also use my husband for your kingdom. Amen.

When you’re weary in doing good

Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers. (Galatians 6:9-10)

Countless times, I wanted to give up with this friend of mine. I would try in every way, to talk to her about Jesus, God and his goodness, but she always turned her back on me. I kept on showing love to her, it wasn’t because I wanted to “convert” her to Christianity, but I don’t know why… I just felt so much compassion for her, that I didn’t know what else to do. When you sow in to someone, who you care for SO much, and year after year, not seeing the fruit, it becomes quite discouraging and you start to feel “weary” in doing all the good that you’re doing.

But who’s strength are we operating under?

but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint. (Isaiah 40:31)

I was trying to do everything with MY strength and that’s when things started to take a toll on me. I was tired, I was feeling defeated, and I started to even question myself, and what I’m doing wrong. The enemy started to attack my identity and use scripture like :

Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. (Matthew 7:19)

To condemn me and tell me that I’m going to be cut and thrown into the fire. It is crazy how the enemy will even take a part of the scripture and attack you with lies.

But over the several years, I started to witness a change in my friend’s life. She would randomly ask me to “pray for her” and “ask God to help her” Also recently she started to read the bible with me, which is something I never thought in a million years, would have happened. Slowly but surely, God was changing her heart.

To people who are feeling weary, I want to share this one scripture verse with you:

My soul is weary with sorrow; strengthen me according to your word. (Psalm 119:28)

I love how here, it says “Strengthen me according to your word.” This, I think is a key antidote, to our weariness. We need to be strengthened through the word of God. We need to be firmly grounded on his truth, or else, when things get tough, and you don’t see a lot of breakthroughs happening in real life, you will get discouraged and even tempted to quit. For me, reading the scripture just like how I eat my meal daily, has helped me GREATLY in being strengthened in Christ. You can clearly see the difference, once you start consuming daily “spiritual” bread.

Lord, thank you for your truth, and your wisdom.

All I have is very little…

 “As surely as the Lord your God lives,” she replied, “I don’t have any bread—only a handful of flour in a jar and a little olive oil in a jug. I am gathering a few sticks to take home and make a meal for myself and my son, that we may eat it—and die.”

Elijah said to her, “Don’t be afraid. Go home and do as you have said. But first make a small loaf of bread for me from what you have and bring it to me, and then make something for yourself and your son. For this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘The jar of flour will not be used up and the jug of oil will not run dry until the day the Lord sends rain on the land.’ ” (1 King 17:12-14)

She didn’t have any bread,

only a handful of flour and little oilve oil. That’s all she had, so she was going to eat that with her son as the last meal and die.

But Elijah, instead of giving her food or the help she needs, first, tells her to not be afraid. If there was a woman in dire need and is starving, my first instinct would be to just simply feed her and her son some food. But Elijah was different. He heard from God the instruction and told the woman to use that LAST little bit of flour and oil to make a small loaf of bread and give it to him.

Instead of using that last bit for herself, the woman used that to serve the Lord and his servant. That act of faithful sacrifice has resulted in the flour and oil never running out in the household. It was not by Elijah, that she was fed, but it was by God’s supernatural provision.

There are times in our lives, where we feel like we have nothing left. No money, no energy, no love, nothing. Drained/ burnt out and ready to just give up and die. But what would happen, if in a situation like this, we decide to give that last bit of ourselves to the Lord? Lord just take everything, even this ounce of energy I have left, I just give it all to you. If I die, then I die, but I sacrifice everything I have left to you.

That’s when the true miracle happens.

 “Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far will they go among so many?” (John 6:9)

The boy’s meal, it wasn’t much, but he gave it up to the Lord with faith. If he held on to his meal, then we would’ve never witnessed the miracle! I need to think about what I’m holding on to, and not letting go to the Lord. If we try to feed ourselves with what we have, then we are missing out on the true provision from God.

Our God is a good God who wants to bless us, and he has ALL the resources to do that. But we have to let him. How can God bless us when we are SO self-sufficient? Lord, please help me to fully sacrifice every last bit of myself to you. Amen.

Trials that prove your faith

In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. (1 Peter 1:6-7)

Who likes trials? … Not me.

I’m not sure what it is but lately (especially last 2 months-ish) I’ve been meditating on so many verses regarding trials and suffering. It seems to be a running theme. My friend has asked me about 2 weeks ago, “What’s your trigger?” My mind started to run wild and I was thinking about ALL the things that ticks me off. The very first one being fear of pain/suffering.

Is comfort my idol?

There are so many verses in the bible that talks about trials and persecution. Because Jesus went through so much of that, we are to take up our cross daily and walk with him. (Matthew 16:24)

But oddly God pairs up the word “trials” with words like “JOY”

When I think of trials, there is nothing truly joyful about it. It is quite dreadful to just think about all the suffering we need to go through. I want to be joyful at all times regardless of my circumstances, because the God of all heavens loves me and is my father. He lives in me! If that does not make you joyful, I don’t know what does. But when situations in front of us gets dire or frustrating, we immediately start complaining and asking God to take that suffering away from us. I wish I was more like Jesus, who can endure such excruciating trials and suffering, yet displaying the perfect obedience.

Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. (James 1: 2-4)

Trials tests your faith, and faith produces perseverance. Perseverance produces maturity. We will become more and more Christlike with these trials. When we truly focus on the end goal, of us being complete in heaven, with God, we will be able to rejoice even the worst suffering.