Verses I really liked from Isaiah 26:
"You, LORD, give perfect peace to those who keep their purpose firm and put their trust in you."
-Isaiah 26:3
Perfect peace! I really had trouble finding God's perfect peace this month, but I realized it started with putting my trust in God.
"We follow your will and put our hope in you; you are all that we desire."
-Isaiah 26:8
Following God's will... I asked God for something I really wanted, and I told God "if it is your will". I didn't get what I wanted, and I was really upset. I realized that it showed that I really didn't want God's will. My hopes should be in God and my desire should be God.
"You will give us prosperity, LORD; everything we achieve is the result of what you do."
-Isaiah 26:12
This was a new way of looking at things for me. I say "God, I give you the glory", but it was more like, "God, I did this for you". This verse tells me that all of my victories are not mine, but God's. I only achieved because God was working.
Sunday, April 25, 2010
End of April Stuff
I'm the type of person who just loves memories. I can laugh at memories and cry over memories for hours. This month was like any other month, but I had great memories!
For one, the memories at the lock-in were quite interesting. Ms. Turley, Hannah, and I had our "secret talk" about weird and random things. Of course, it HAD to be in the bathroom, since it's like the girls' private quarters. I had awesome memories with Dianne too. We were playing sardines, and Dianne and I were freaked out because everyone was disappearing. We were basically glued to each other as we tried to find the rest of the class. Overall, it was a great time.
Then there were the soccer memories. I think soccer was kind of an up-and-down sort of thing for me. Soccer practice was hectic sometimes. I remember when we ran back to school when it was raining and hailing like crazy. As for the tournaments, we lost 13-0 and 5-1. We were tired, sore, hot, sweaty, and depressed, but we had fun. After the games, Ben Henry told me that he couldn't recognize me because I got so tanned running around the soccer field all day.
I also went to this picnic yesterday with all the Koreans in Ankara. We had a barbecue at Golbasi Park, and I stuffed myself with barbecue chicken and steak and tons of other good stuff. I mostly hung out with Doyee. It was quite... interesting. When Doyee and I were walking around, we met these two Turkish kids. Apparently, the guy wanted to go out with me. I sort of just stood there awkwardly wondering what I should say, and Doyee told him that I had "another guy". I couldn't stop laughing after we left them.
It was a good month. It seemed like April was a big struggle for me in some areas, but, like always, God gave me wonderful memories to cheer me up. I can't wait to see what other memories are in store!
For one, the memories at the lock-in were quite interesting. Ms. Turley, Hannah, and I had our "secret talk" about weird and random things. Of course, it HAD to be in the bathroom, since it's like the girls' private quarters. I had awesome memories with Dianne too. We were playing sardines, and Dianne and I were freaked out because everyone was disappearing. We were basically glued to each other as we tried to find the rest of the class. Overall, it was a great time.
Then there were the soccer memories. I think soccer was kind of an up-and-down sort of thing for me. Soccer practice was hectic sometimes. I remember when we ran back to school when it was raining and hailing like crazy. As for the tournaments, we lost 13-0 and 5-1. We were tired, sore, hot, sweaty, and depressed, but we had fun. After the games, Ben Henry told me that he couldn't recognize me because I got so tanned running around the soccer field all day.
I also went to this picnic yesterday with all the Koreans in Ankara. We had a barbecue at Golbasi Park, and I stuffed myself with barbecue chicken and steak and tons of other good stuff. I mostly hung out with Doyee. It was quite... interesting. When Doyee and I were walking around, we met these two Turkish kids. Apparently, the guy wanted to go out with me. I sort of just stood there awkwardly wondering what I should say, and Doyee told him that I had "another guy". I couldn't stop laughing after we left them.
It was a good month. It seemed like April was a big struggle for me in some areas, but, like always, God gave me wonderful memories to cheer me up. I can't wait to see what other memories are in store!
Sunday, March 28, 2010
Kalista's Birthday Party
Kalista turned 14 two days ago, and so we had a party. I must say it was quite a night to remember! There were so many random things that happened! We arrived and talked and chatted while Sofie was dancing away downstairs. I know, it was a bit strange, but later on she came back to her senses and joined us again :) After that we pigged out on snacks, chicken soop, GARLIC BREAD, and LEMON MERINGUE PIE. Then we sang on Kalista's Karaoke trying to beat Konnar's and Noah's score. In the end we did, just not the way we expected. We got a 99 on "Heartbreaker" because we were (basically) reading the words.
Then we talked some more about more random things. After a while, we decided we needed to play Truth or Dare on Kalista's i-pod. It was actually very funny. Sofie smelled all our feet and rated them. I got second best smelling feet! :D Dianne had to hold my hand for 30 minutes, Hannah S. had to do a somersault (which she never did), Sofie had to say everything in the "Happy Birthday" tune, and Kalista confessed that she has always wanted to be like Hillary Duff (not really). Anyway, it was just a bundle of fun. We ended it off by watching Game Plan, and Dianne, Hannah, and I stayed up for almost the whole night.
Good memories, good memories. If I had Dianne's camera I would post weird pictures we took at the party, but unfortunately I don't. It was a great sleepover!
Then we talked some more about more random things. After a while, we decided we needed to play Truth or Dare on Kalista's i-pod. It was actually very funny. Sofie smelled all our feet and rated them. I got second best smelling feet! :D Dianne had to hold my hand for 30 minutes, Hannah S. had to do a somersault (which she never did), Sofie had to say everything in the "Happy Birthday" tune, and Kalista confessed that she has always wanted to be like Hillary Duff (not really). Anyway, it was just a bundle of fun. We ended it off by watching Game Plan, and Dianne, Hannah, and I stayed up for almost the whole night.
Good memories, good memories. If I had Dianne's camera I would post weird pictures we took at the party, but unfortunately I don't. It was a great sleepover!
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Going Back to America for the Summer....
Thank you prayer group! My parents found some tickets back to the States and so now the short trip back to America is official. I'm going on the 17th of June and coming back on the 8th of July. I'm excited and happy and scared and worried all at the same time. I'm excited because I'm going back to ONE of my many homes and happy because I love riding airplanes and packing and all that stuff. I'm scared and worried because... well, unfortunately, I'm always scared and worried :)
I think one of the reasons why I'm so scared, though, is because I have to face my old friends again. It's so weird how just a year can change everything. This is even scarier for me because I haven't been back to America for two years now. Will my friends still be my friends or will they have changed too much to care for me? I don't know. I guess it's in God's hands.
I think one of the reasons why I'm so scared, though, is because I have to face my old friends again. It's so weird how just a year can change everything. This is even scarier for me because I haven't been back to America for two years now. Will my friends still be my friends or will they have changed too much to care for me? I don't know. I guess it's in God's hands.
Thursday, March 4, 2010
Youth Group WATT=Z
I'm very sorry about the lack of pictures, but I have recently lost my camera and am unable to take pictures. I really wasn't going to post anything, but since I am now off Facebook this blog will be sort of a way for people to know what I am doing.
Today we had Youth Group and it was very fun just like usual. We were actually going to watch Princess Bride, but in the end we ended up having a praise and worship time. Either way, we still had fun trying to eat flying popcorn.
During our praise and worship time we did active songs like Every Move I Make and Blind Man as well as some very touching songs like Grace like Rain and Jesus Lover of My Soul. I love praise and worship time because it's a way to weave in beautiful music with meaningful words.
Youth Group is just so awesome because it's a place where kids like me can talk about God with other kids. At the same time we still have fun playing games and praising God. And I always feel convicted afterwards which helps me to evaluate my relationship with God every week.
I can't wait until next week!
Today we had Youth Group and it was very fun just like usual. We were actually going to watch Princess Bride, but in the end we ended up having a praise and worship time. Either way, we still had fun trying to eat flying popcorn.
During our praise and worship time we did active songs like Every Move I Make and Blind Man as well as some very touching songs like Grace like Rain and Jesus Lover of My Soul. I love praise and worship time because it's a way to weave in beautiful music with meaningful words.
Youth Group is just so awesome because it's a place where kids like me can talk about God with other kids. At the same time we still have fun playing games and praising God. And I always feel convicted afterwards which helps me to evaluate my relationship with God every week.
I can't wait until next week!
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
Another Goal!
So I have begun to notice this year that I have a habit of teasing people about secrets that they don't know. It's not exactly bad and I usually do not give away the secret, but sometimes I do. That's why I have decided that for 2010 I will strive to keep my mouth shut in all circumstances about things that are not my business. Hopefully, I will actually be able to achieve it.
Monday, March 1, 2010
Living as a Korean-American
It's hard trying to balance two different cultures at the same time. As most people know, I am a Korean American. I am a full-blooded Korean with Korean parents but grew up in the States and went to English-speaking schools. I am the product of Western and Eastern culture mixed together.
There are actually quite a lot of people like me, but it's not exactly common in Turkey. Most of the time, being a part of two cultures is great. I can relate to a wide range of people, speak two languages, and have more knowledge about different cultures than most people do. It's a great privilege to be able to experience two cultures.
At the same time, it can be a burden. Sometimes I wish I had been born into one culture or the other. In my case, I have become better at speaking English than Korean so sometimes it is awkward for me to speak in Korean. Sometimes, I do not completely fit into either culture because in my world I mix things up a bit :). It's also difficult for my parents to try to understand an American culture for our sakes.
Life will always have good things and bad things. We'll always be thankful and also struggle at the same time. Being a TCK can be hard, but God sustains me and I will enjoy the privilege He has given me.
There are actually quite a lot of people like me, but it's not exactly common in Turkey. Most of the time, being a part of two cultures is great. I can relate to a wide range of people, speak two languages, and have more knowledge about different cultures than most people do. It's a great privilege to be able to experience two cultures.
At the same time, it can be a burden. Sometimes I wish I had been born into one culture or the other. In my case, I have become better at speaking English than Korean so sometimes it is awkward for me to speak in Korean. Sometimes, I do not completely fit into either culture because in my world I mix things up a bit :). It's also difficult for my parents to try to understand an American culture for our sakes.
Life will always have good things and bad things. We'll always be thankful and also struggle at the same time. Being a TCK can be hard, but God sustains me and I will enjoy the privilege He has given me.
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