Online shopping is DANGEROUS!!

I've been ordering textbooks online lately in preparation of another semester and it has been dangerous for my credit card. Somehow items on my wishlist mysteriously creeped itself into the checkout list. Scary...

How to motivate yourself to study when everyone else is done...

1.keep drinking lots of yummy fluids ie hot chocolate, apple cider, tea etc
2.sing yourself a happy tune
3.make your study notes colourful and short form with written emoticons ie happy baby = :)

Hope this will last me for another 3 days!!

Study Break!

Sleeping helps consolidate memory.. so naps are recommended when studying...

BUHAHAHHA!!! 4 more days!! 4 more days!!

:)

People aren't food!!

So exams have unfortunately taken over.. will catch up on readings soon. For now.. I would love to share with you this song from Modern Family. My friends were talking about it.. so I decided to give it a try during my study 'break'. It's perfect cause it's only 20mins and you're suppose to take 20 mins breaks for every 1-2 hours of studying. I admit this show is pretty funny. Enjoy!

People aren't food!

:)

Random fact #1

PTSD = post traumatic stress disorder

It is easier for a person to recover from a traumatic event if it happened naturally than if it was 'human designed'... Just tells you that people by nature are relational beings...

:)

December 6

Today I am humbly reminded of how much I am loved and cared about. Such a blessing! 

I pray that I will continue to be a shining light- to bring hope, joy and cheer. I pray that God will continue to teach me to be a Christ-follower, one who is continuously led with a burning passion in her heart. I pray that I will learn how to be a better daughter, sister and friend (& a girlfriend/wife/mother one day). I pray that I will strive to be a woman of God just like in Proverbs 31 and that God will smiling down because of me. 

This is my birthday prayer.

:) 

God Will Take Care of You

You need to watch the video until the end... can I get an amen and a big aww?

:)

Go Light Your World- Chris Rice

This morning while I was lining up for Timmies, this song was playing on my ipod. I forgot how much I loved this song. I decided to share my joy on twitter (btw.. Twitter is like another world of its own)... it was going so well until Mike Foo and Jay Leung ruined it. Booo.

:)

Courageous Leadership- Bill Hybels

 

Why I chose this book:
     I've actually "read" this book 8-9 years ago. It was at my junior high church retreat when one of my leaders handed me this book. I think people were doing their homework and I had nothing to do so I asked for a book.  Sitting in front of the warm fireplace, I quickly indulged about a quarter of this book. It wasn't until another leader told me that it wasn't a suitable book for me that I stopped reading it. The second leader told me I was too young and that the book should be read when I was a bit older. (I was in Grade 7 at that time). To be honest, I don't remember very much of the content. It wasn't until my second year of university that I stumbled upon this book again. I actually bought 2 copies (1 was going to be for a friend) but I never got around to it cause there was a "Bill Hybel controversy" around that time.
     Fast track 3 years and the book is still lying on my bookshelf =P and of course.. I read it as part of the new challenge.

Thoughts:
    I must admit I had a hard time reading this book. I was uninspired and really dreaded the content and the "tone" of the book. Even before getting to Chapter 1, under the acknowledgment section Hybels describes the church [Willow Creek] that he is a pastor at as one who "...lives out the Acts 2 dream better than than any I have ever seen anywhere in the world.".pg 9. I struggled with his humility as he... in my opinion boost about his ministries, his leadership, and Willow Creek. On his defense, there were times that he reminds us that he is no better.. but maybe it's his writing style that turns me off. Example #2: Hybels was talking about the early stages of the church and how they kept moving from building to building and that money was limited. One of the things he said was "volunteers had to tape down all the electrical cords with gray duct tape so that people wouldn't trip over them" pg 95. UMM!! TCBC still does that!!

Here are some of the things that I didn't necessarily agree with him:
1. "Vision is a picture of the future that produces passion". pg 32
Hybels uses this in the context of building a new church. I think the opposite can be true too.. passion produces vision. I guess I am more of an emotionally driven person so to me, my passion and what I care for the most, helps me see potential changes that can happen in the world.

2. In Chapter 5, Hybels talks about the Resource Challenge of the church. As you may not know, Willow Creek is a massive church today and so they receive hundreds of e-mails asking for financial support. This is what he says in response to the letters:  "The very pressure that you're feeling right now is the stuff that God wants to use to move you and your people into higher levels of commitment and trust".. so essentially no. That doesn't sit well with me...

He does bring good points such as types of leadership style and leader's pathway but again, maybe because of his language and choice of words?... I had no motivation listen to his point of view. =P

Favourite Quote:
 
   **unfortunately it's not by him but by Dee Hock**

"It is management of self that should occupy 50 percent of our time and the best of our ability. And when when we do that the ethical, moral, and spiritual elements of management are inescapable".  

Rating: 2/5 

:)

Before the throne of God above - Shane and Shane

This was one of the worship songs this morning. I LOVE this version.

1. I love waking up to this in the morning- the perfect reminder to start each new day.
2. I love music that makes me shiver and this makes me shiver every time I listen to it.
3. Shane & Shane have dreamy voices.

**sorry for the video graphics.. I'm not a fan of it but this is the only version I can find**

The Five Love Languages - Gary Chapman

Why I chose this book:
     When I went to visit Cat this summer, she introduced this book to me. I remember we (Lorr, Cat and I) were sitting there in Chicago sharing about relationships and somehow this book was mentioned. Coming back to Canada, I was determined to find this book. Over the years I've read many relationship books but I never found one that I liked. I did a quick glance through the original version of the book (not the one above) and found that it was directed towards married couples so I decided to buy the singles edition. I've actually started and "semi" finished this book in the summer but I stopped when I reached the chapter for children and single parents. It wasn't until a couple days ago that I actually finished it =P


Thoughts:
    I must say up to this point this is my favourite book on relationships. It wasn't the typical... why girls should submit.. or why guys should be the head of the household.. blah blah blah. It was about creating, mending and sustaining the relationship between friends, intimate partners, family, co-workers and children. It focuses mainly on 5 ideas namely Words of Affirmation, Gifts, Acts of Service, Quality Time and Physical Touch. Dr. Chapman believes that everyone responds best to one of these five qualities. For example person A may enjoy spending time with her loved one more than receiving a gift from a loved one. When A gets to spend an afternoon with someone special she feels love. Similarly, when she doesn't, she feel unloved. Everyone is different. Realizing a person's love language will help endorse quality into the relationship by focusing how to effectively communicate or show your love to them. I know these 5 elements may seem straight forward but the examples he uses are engaging and it shows the realistic struggles that one may face. I like how it is not a step by step method outline but a book based on stories with focus points. It does not contain a lot of scripture, but for the purpose of this book, I felt that it was okay.
      As my birthday is coming, I start to dread the question, "What do you want for your birthday?" Ugh. I think personally for me, my primary love language is not gifts and so a person buying me something does not demonstrate love more than the person ________. (haha you'll just have to figure out my primary love language yourself). All in all, would I recommend it? Absolutely! I actually look forward to the day that I can read the original version of the book with my "husband-to-be"... maybe I should start a wedding wish list. Haha =P

Favourite Quote:
    
     "There is a difference between 'being united' and 'unity'." pg168

Rating: 4/5 

Your turn! Thoughts?
Btw that's 2 books in 2 days! I'm on a roll. I think my next book is going to be a controversial one...

:)

Crazy Love- Francis Chan

Why I chose this book:
     This week, Jay and I were leading BBS at RH3C- Kainos and after the study questions we were to show a clip of Francis Chan's preaching from "One Prayer 2009". I believe I was first introduced to Francis Chan at Canaan Retreat a couple years ago. He's a dynamic, engaging and heart-felt speaker and so many of my friends follow his messages and books. On Monday night as Jay and I both started to plan for BBS, we started to wiki this person cause we wanted to give our SG a correct introduction to who he is and what he does. He's an incredibly humble man who gives and gives and gives.
     On Tuesday, I was ordering books online and saw that this book was the #1 recommended religious book and so I thought to myself... hmm maybe it's a book worth investing. Unfortunately my credit card wouldn't work (service was down) so there was a bit of a lag. After running some erands in the morning, I found myself at Chapters. Conveniently they had copies of Crazy Love! I was going to see if I can cram in the book before SG that night but haha didn't end up happening. =P Today (Wed) as I was on the bus to school, I started to read it. It's weird cause I usually read a bit and sleep cause I get dizzy on the bus while reading. Nope. Not today. Finished the book in 2 hours. :) 

Thoughts:
    I remember when I was Junior High, one of my counsellors challenged our time devoted to reading religious books. She said, why are we spending a majority of our time reading people's perspective about the Gospel when we should go to the main source: The Holy Bible. That made a lot of sense to me and I started to change my focus in terms of reading material. What I really liked about this book is its incorporation of the scripture. Very often you'll read religious books who quotes from the Scripture a couple times but Francis Chan REALLY quotes the Bible. For every 1 point or so, he'll back his every statement with several passages. This is what he says:


"But we all know that you can find quotes to support any view you want to take. You can even tweak words studies to help you in your effort" pg 85

It's so true. So when he quotes the Bible, it makes everything sound so much more legit. Even when he mentions the same passage twice, he used 2 different versions of it to reinforce and give the passage another point of view (did anyone else notice that?). If you're looking for a book to challenge you to step out of your comfort bubble as a Christian and stop being a lukewarm, this is a good read. I especially like the inspirational stories found in the second last chapter... stories of people who have been bold about their faith.

Favourite Quote:
     "When we work for Christ out of obligation, if feels like work. But when we truly love Christ, our work is a manifestation of that love, and it feels like love." pg 110. 

Rating: 4.5/5 


Now you've read my thoughts, please share your's or recommend something to me!

:)

My New Challenge!

One of the changes that I'm going to make is the new category: Books!
I've always loved reading as a kid. I remember reading while I follow my mom around the grocery store. The book would cover my face and I would bump into things. Haha always got yelled for that =P Yes.. "The Babysitter's Club" remember that?

I'm pretty sure I've read all hundred something of them. The best part was Chapter 2 cause it was the EXACT same story in every book (the girl's background) so I would always skip Chapter 2 and not miss a beat. Gotta love those days.

OK. So why this new category? I find that I tend to forget books that I've read. I would be inspired after reading it and then forget it OR  I would read books halfway and not finish them. =P

Here's the new challenge. I am to read a book every 2 weeks. I will then post my favourite quote, thoughts about the book and provide a rating of it. Initially I thought about keeping this project private but I've realized that books are meant to be shared and the messages behind them are suppose to passed on. The rule is, I can repeat books that I've read in the past (prob cause I forgot them), in return, I hope that those who have read my post will share with me your thoughts and suggest a book.

Stay tuned!

:)

New Beginning

As you can see my former posts have all been deleted! I think I'm going to introduce some change here. I remember when I first started this blog, I wanted keep a record of the things that challenge me on a day to day basis. Part of the reason why the title is "little by little" comes from the song that goes

"little by little every day, little by little in every way, my Jesus is changing me...

(I would have posted a youtube video of it except all the versions that I found made my ears bleed...)

unfortunately I wasn't very good at a)keeping the blog b) going public with it.

Time for some change. Stay tuned! I'm sure there's going to be a post tonight.

:)