01 Sep

Recently in a small group, we were talking about how the Lord disciplines us because He loves us (Hebrews 12:6). One person in the group brought up how so often, just when we think we've gotten to a pretty good spot in our spiritual walks, it seems that new testing comes, and new struggles from within are brought to the surface through which the Lord is able to discipline us. The Lord brought something up in my heart. In my experience, this recurring testing, to me, is a reflection of the goodness and faithfulness of the Lord. Many of us, myself...

21:27 / Featured / Healing / Heart Things / Instagram
02 Apr

My heart is breaking for the crisis in our nation and world. I know there are many stories of hope and faith, stories of people coming together, helping each other, caring for one another, and I am beyond thankful for this. But my heart is heavy.  I grieve for those who are sick, for those whose family and friends are dying. I grieve for those who are living in fear, isolation and anxiety. I grieve for my fellow Asian Americans who are being targeted by angry people looking for somewhere to place their blame. It is so painful to feel like...

21:07 / Featured / Heart Things / Instagram
31 Mar

Out of God’s perfect love, he formed Adam and Eve. His divine desire was for a unity in relationship with man in the same way that He had perfect relationship within his triune self. This love isn’t the fake, surface-y stuff that permeates our culture. It is a true, unadulterated love that always puts the other person above oneself. It continuously seeks to “prefer, serve, promote and release the other” (Steve Chua, ID Encounter). It’s a love that wants to see the other person in their best possible version of themselves, and can both encourage and correct in love to get them there. It is a...

12:28 / Featured / Healing / Heart Things / Instagram
21 Mar

"Every person on earth is somewhere on the journey from orphan to so ship." - Restoring the Foundations The fall of mankind separated us forever from our Father, our Creator. Yet since that very moment that Adam & Eve chose sin, the Lord has been working to restore us into the relationship we once had with him. Jesus made the way for us to no longer be orphans, but to be adopted once again as sons and daughters of the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Does this change your perspective of the people around you? It does for me. When...

22:38 / Featured / Healing / Heart Things
20 Mar

“It shall come to pass in the latter days that the mountain of the house of the Lord shall be established as the highest of the mountains, and shall be lifted up above the hills; and all the nations shall flow to it, and many peoples shall come, and say: "Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob, that he may teach us his ways and that we may walk in his paths." For out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from...

16:19 / Featured / Heart Things
25 Feb

It always amazes me how people all around us carry stories of miracles, and oftentimes we never even have the chance to hear them. When Lauren shared briefly on Facebook about how God healed her son Izak, I knew I wanted to hear more. The stories God writes in our lives are meant to be shared - to encourage and ignite hope. Not everyone's story is the same, and we can't pretend to know how God will work in each situation, but I'm thankful that through the witness In each others' lives, God continually shows himself faithful. I'm honored Lauren...

10:18 / Featured / Healing / Heart Things / Instagram
23 Feb

Let’s start with a fact. I am better at folding laundry than my children. In fact, I’m better at folding laundry than anyone in my household, and my husband will happily attest to that. I actually enjoy folding laundry under the right circumstances, I think it’s from my days working retail in college. There’s something therapeutic about seeing neat piles of clothes sorted by type and person. Now, let’s go to a confession. Some days, when my 4 year old asks to help me fold laundry, I honestly can’t be bothered. I give him an excuse, shrug him off, and say “it’s ok honey, you’re so...

13:11 / Featured / Heart Things / Instagram / Parenting / Stewardship
10 Feb

This is a guest post written by my beautiful and talented friend, Jess. You can find her at Oil & Splendor. Anger is easy. I’m sitting on my couch, very pregnant, and very annoyed. Why? Because I’m impatient. I’m 37 weeks , and I think I should be finished, and that this little guy should come out…NOW! My other pregnancies were not like this. Graeme was born on his due date, and Scout was five days early. I was ready, but I don’t remember feeling this need to go early, or this extreme discomfort. A disclaimer…I have had a relatively easy pregnancy, but these past few...

14:00 / Heart Things / Instagram
02 Feb

I never knew I had an issue with ungodly anger until I had kids and became a stay at home mom. There’s something that stirs up when, day after day of not being able to control my environment, trying in vain to respond rationally to an irrational person, and trying to prove my worth in a role that is generally unappreciated and undervalued, that brings out the ugly things inside of me. For many years I struggled to manage my anger outbursts, which were mainly geared toward my kids, a few times toward my husband. I read articles, blogs, listened to podcasts, searched through...

03:46 / Featured / Healing / Heart Things
01 Feb

I used to think I didn’t have any problems with my cultural identity. Clearly, I was just white, but looked a little Asian. I joke, but you know what they say about jokes! In case you didn't know, I was born in Taipei, Taiwan. When I was five years old, my mother, brother & I moved to a small beautiful town in New Jersey. There wasn’t much diversity, and I grew up for most of my school life feeling different and secretly wishing I was the same as everyone else. I wished our family was like all my friends’ families. I wished...

03:31 / Featured / Healing / Heart Things / Instagram