a very jumbled recap.

so this post is REALLY REALLY unorganized and not very well thought out due to lack of preparation time.. but i still wanted to post it just to let my 3? readers have a chance to sneak a peek into what all God took me through this year. SO.. though it is poorly written, please bear with me and take what i wrote as happy things :) that sentence made absolutely no sense i'm sorry. it's almost 8 in the morning and i haven't sleep since 1pm yesterday. WHOOOOOOOOO!

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Things I've learned/re-learned in 2009:

1. Don’t ever compare yourself to anyone else. – this is something I’m still trying to remember. It’s so easy for me to compare myself to other people… she’s so much prettier.. she has better clothes.. her smile is brighter.. her eyelashes are so long while mine are straight and boring and NEVER CURL... people like her more because of this, because of that…. MAN! In the words of Sebastian, the wise crab from ‘The Little Mermaid’ : you’ve got to be you, I’ve got to me, so simple but true who else could you be!.... God created only one you. You are the only person that could ever possibly be you. You are your own unique, awesome person created in God’s image. Why would you WANT to be ANYBODY else?? It’s tough but I have to constantly remind myself that I am created in God’s image (Genesis 1:27) and I am fearfully and wonderfully made (Psalm 139:14). God doesn’t create trash! So maybe I’m not what the world would consider pretty.. but I am beautiful in my own way and God has blessed me with certain qualities that bring glory to Him.
2. God won’t always give you the people you want. Instead, He’ll give you the people you need in your life to grow and learn from. – friendships have definitely changed for me this year. Some have moved into different seasons.. others have fallen apart. I’ve forged new friendships and rekindled old ones. The Lord has been good to me. I’d like to say I can walk away from this year knowing more about what it means to be a friend and what a friend is to me. I learned that it’s more important to focus on the quality than the quantity. I’ve been called out and humbled. Truly, truly humbled. Sitting in my bathtub at 2am crying my eyes out… the Lord is good to me. He took me in His arms and showed me I am made new. I’ve been encouraged.. a lot of times I feel SPOILED for the amount of encouragement God blesses me with. Encouragement came from people I would have never expected… such a blessing. My closest, oldest friend moved 4 hours away from me this year. I expected loneliness to overshadow my life.. but God wouldn’t allow it. Different seasons. Amen. I was blessed enough to meet a girl in one of my classes whose love for the Lord was an inspiration and a breath of fresh air. She was truly genuine about her faith. She reminded me of something I had forgotten. She reminded me of how important it is to share the Good News with everyone. It was so awesome seeing her fearlessly talk to random strangers about the love of Christ. Praise the Lord :) A friendship from someone 4 hours away grew out of nowhere… and his faithfulness to the Lord has been an encouragement for me in more ways than one. But mostly what I learned this year about friendships is that I have Someone who will never leave me (Hebrews 13:5b). SERIOUSLY. It sounds SO CHEESY… but this year, I really saw that Jesus is ALWAAAAAAAYS with me. In those moments when I’m sitting on my bathroom floor crying.. to the moments where my heart feels like it’s about to burst with joy.. He is there. What a friend we have in Jesus, amen? :)
3. I learned who really cares about me. I’ve realized that the people that truly love you… the people you can call friends… they are the ones that will call you back when they see they have a missed call from you. No excuses. They’re the people that call YOU up when they notice you haven’t been calling them. They’re the ones that randomly IM you to see how you’re doing, how they can pray for you. They’re the ones that send emails to update you about little everyday things in their life. They’ll call you out on your crap when you need it and they’ll lift you up when you need some repair. Thank you. You guys know who you are.
4. There is power in prayer. For the longest time, I’d been praying for something very personal. It affected my life a whole lot… and it hurt a whole lot. I thought God would never send the healing needed for my family… after all, I’d been praying for years and years for relief. But this year… God answered my prayer. For the first time in a long time, I saw us laugh together and enjoy each other’s company. It was such a blessing and I will always keep those memories in my mind. Don’t get me wrong… we are nowhere near perfect… but knowing the Lord has picked out these three people to take me through life is so humbling… can you believe He sits there and hand picks each person and already knows where we’ll butt heads and where we’ll complement each other?? Such a mind-boggling thought. Anyway, my point in all this is that the Lord provides. Maybe not when we want and how we want – but He provides. All He asks is that we remain faithful to Him.
5. God’s got His own game plan. I’m just here for the ride.



OTHER things I’ve learned/re-learned/observed from myself and others?

1. Most people don’t really care to keep in touch with you. If you come across a person that actually goes through with their attempts to keep in touch with you… they’re keepers.
2. I don’t really care for dai hoi anymore. It’s lost its excitement.
3. God has a wacky sense of humor.
4. I wear my hair up when I haven’t showered in a few days.
5. A lot of people out there are FAKE!
6. I can’t stand certain people.
7. Girls are petty. And catty. Meow.
8. Miranda Kerr is adorable.
9. Mirror pictures never get old.
10. Filipino people are really cool. And almost all of them can sing and/or dance very well.
11. Playing guitar is kinda painful.
12. TCH is a rare, true-blue friend. I can always count on him to listen when I need someone to just listen.
13. I am pretty much destined to look the same for the rest of my life.
14. Promises are not forever.
15. But people can still pick themselves up and keep walking.
16. All because of God’s strength.
17. Time capsules allow a group of people to be together always.
18. Even if in real life, they go in a million different directions.
19. We’ll always have that one year where everything was together.
20. You can’t be afraid to move on to new things.
21. God paints the prettiest sunrises and even beautiful-er sunsets.
22. Frozen yogurt is insanely overrated.
23. I don’t like Lady Gaga.
24. Saranya is a great friend and I’m thankful she’s my friend.
25. I love my cousins.
26. Wood + chocolate = coffee.
27. Always call your friends back.
28. Writing is good for the soul.
29. Taylor Swift is fuh reakin awesome.
30. So are wooden playgrounds.
31. I can bake a cake!
32. If you break one phone and lose another, you can get a new one!
33. But that still doesn’t mean you can get texting.
34. I’m not too shabby at rollerblading.
35. Creamed corn is muy delicioso.
36. Enjoy time with little kids now because before you know it, they’ll be teenagers.
37. Tacky sweaters are kinda cute.
38. Sometimes, a conversation can make all the difference.
39. Don’t be afraid to tell someone what you’re really thinking.
40. I have to clean my house at least twice a week.
41. My family is forever loud.
42. I like my hair short.
43. Beignets do exist in Dallas.
44. Jonathan Kang and I hang out randomly.
45. Crawfish is SOOOOOOO GOOOOOOD
46. Cambodian people are very nice.
47. You can never be too old for bounce houses.
48. Being there on someone’s graduation day is a big encouragement!
49. I like giraffes
50. I’ve lost countless hours of sleep because of Michelle calling me at late hours.
51. Zip-lining is kinda freaky
52. If you think he’s a player, he’s probably a player.
53. If you put in that LITTLE EXTRA PUSH… you can get that A.
54. Mud in the mouth is not fun.
55. Pong is a painful game.
56. Everyone’s growing up really fast.
57. My metabolism is starting to catch up with me.
58. Gossiping will catch up to you sooner or later.
59. I will never get tired of Golden Chick.
60. Eating lunch by yourself is not a bad thing.
61. 7-eleven gas SUCKS!
62. I look okay in skinny jeans.
63. My money is not my money. it’s God’s money.
64. Frank Zhou can live a million miles away and our friendship will still be okay.
65. Be true to yourself.

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while there is sooooo much more i would like to add to both lists........... i haven't the time. but if you're interested in hearing more and i've carefully planned out more thoughts in my head, we should totally get together sometime for some food or ice cream or fruity smoothies but please no frozen yogurt.

i will try to take a nap now. we leave for camp in a few hours and i'm still not packed. and i have to shower. and i'm STARVING!! can't wait to see what God's got up His sleeve for this camp and 2010!!!!!!!!!!!




love love love love.