created

A lesson I won't soon forget is when I was about 10-11 years old, my Sunday School teacher took our class out when we were supposed to be going through our Bible study lesson packet. Instead of doing our usual thing, she (I think she was barely a high school/college student?) took us to a nearby wooded area and picked out a large maple leaf. She had us look closely at the intricate veins, capillaries and complex design of the leaf for a few minutes. She was wide-eyed, with a child-like wonder and gasped at this simple yet marvelous leaf we often take for granted. Even as children we were able to conclude that only a higher being was capable of creating something so perfect and beautiful. That leaf was no accident. Creation is not an accident. The life we live is not an accident.

As creative as man can get, he ultimately ends up emulating nature and ceaselessly expresses natural beauty via "man-made" media. No matter how "advanced", even artificial media is a mere representation of what's already created - man's attempt at replicating what's already made perfect by God.

The most creative one I know? God - the only one who can create something out of nothing, beauty from brokenness, make the foolish confound the wise, whose weakness is stronger than man's strength.

About a week or so into the Lenten season, that's the major take-away for me: Jesus is enough. Part of the purpose of fasting and abstaining is to refocus. Refocus and realize that my devotion should not be to created things or to my own imagination/self-realization, but to the Creator God who gave life. And not just "life as we know it" but eternal, true, everlasting, fullness of life that births new life in others that only comes by grace through faith in Jesus Christ, as we repent of our sins. There is no adequate substitute.

I've been trying to fast from certain media outlets that take up a lot of time. But during this past week (spring break), I realized I had conditioned myself to zone out in front of a computer screen - a created thing - rather than enjoy and being terrified in the presence of the glorious Adonai. This whole fasting, repentance, Lent thing? It's more than modifying my habits - it's gonna take some serious heart work. Jesus, help me.

"Claiming to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things... exchang(ing) the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen." (Romans 1:22-23,25b)

Therefore, I fast from created things that I may know my Creator and do what I was created to do - worshiping Him.

top ten tuesdays

top ten reasons why i'm holding off on buying a smart phone... for now:

10. I don't want to be a slave to email/texting. It took me a while to stop religiously and obsessively checking email on my laptop. Big time-waster. I don't need to increase the temptation by putting email/internet in my pocket.

9. Politeness fail. I see people constantly glued to their phones. Head down, eyes squinted and glazed, both thumbs scrolling... completely distracted. No thanks. How about saying. "Hi" and staying engaged in the conversation the whole time?

8. "I can Google anything, anytime." Great, now we think we're experts on everything (not even close). I like putting my senses to work and exploring the world to get some answers. Might not get an answer in .0023 seconds, but my brain = superior search engine. Try asking a human expert and traveling more - works pretty well and you'll remember it better.

7. Battery fail. If used to its full capability, most smart phones don't last very long (maybe 1 day). Good luck traveling or trying to enjoy nature. My "stupid phone" battery lasts like 3 days no problem. "Stupid phones" FTW.

6. Read/note fail. When reading books, most notably the Bible, via smart phone, you're just limited. You can only view a couple of verses at a time, it's difficult to gain a greater scope of the passage and you can't read and take notes on your phone at the same time. Somebody please figure out a better way. Thanks.

5. Patience fail. In the world of BBM, IM, texting - people expect instant replies. If not? Instant memory loss and instant flare ups. Instant gratification much?

4. ADD fail. With hundreds and thousands of applications available for use on smart phones, people are way too distracted. We're fickle and forgetful as is and are terrible multi-taskers. Currently, smart phones don't help us get more focused, just more distracted.

3. Memory fail. When was the last time you memorized anything? Birthday, phone number, email address... I used to have everything memorized. Now my brain is mush and I need to rely on things like Facebook, GoogleCalendar to remind me. No WiFi access + Battery fail + Power outage = memory blackout.

2. Awareness fail. Ear phones plugged into ears, hoodie over head, eyes averted, thumbs on smart phone screen = isolated hermit. Lots happening in life, but we miss out behind our technology/social media walls. Not to mention, pesky unaware pedestrians who almost get hit by car drivers who are texting. Sigh.

1. All your eggs in one basket. If you lose your smart phone, you are screwed. For example: Banks and credit companies are trying to make it so that you can pay for things with a swipe of your smart phone. If you steal someone's smart phone, you'd have access to... everything. No thanks. Go ahead and take my cellphone, identity thieves, you won't get squat... Sucker!

All joking aside, I don't really have anything against smart phones and "technology". They're fast, can do tons of things "regular" cell phones can't, and can make life easier and more efficient. And they're awesome in helping people stay connected.

In most cases, it's not the technology itself that is the "issue" - it's undisciplined, inconsiderate people that give technology a bad rap. Myself included. We the people have the responsibility and choice of how we use our resources.

"Look at this stuff, isn't it neat?" - Ariel

Yup.

Fast forward a year from now... and I'll be a smart phone slave too. Sigh.

Oh the irony... end blog post.

thank you thursdays: true bread

This week, I'm thankful for this reminder from Jesus in the book of Matthew, chapter 4:

"Man does not live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God"

Church folk - we're fasting together this week. While breaking fast one evening, I got a little too excited about food and bought a few too many sandwiches for myself. I conveniently forgot that while fasting, your stomach tends to shrink and your appetite for food diminishes (and I've been doing this how long...?)

Needless to say, I didn't finish and was left with a full stomach and leftover food. Fail.

I can relate to the Israelites who grew tired of the bread God provided from heaven and "craved meat". Wait a tic, rewind: God gave His people BREAD FROM HEAVEN. Every. Day.

*PKKKEEWWWWWWWAWAWAAAAAA~* (mind. blown.)

But then came the real bread:

Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, you want to be with me because I fed you, not because you understood the miraculous signs. But don’t be so concerned about perishable things like food. Spend your energy seeking the eternal life that the Son of Man can give you. For God the Father has given me the seal of his approval.”

They replied, “We want to perform God’s works, too. What should we do?”

Jesus told them, “This is the only work God wants from you: Believe in the one he has sent.”

They answered, “Show us a miraculous sign if you want us to believe in you. What can you do? After all, our ancestors ate manna while they journeyed through the wilderness! The Scriptures say, ‘Moses gave them bread from heaven to eat.’”

Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, Moses didn’t give you bread from heaven. My Father did. And now he offers you the true bread from heaven. The true bread of God is the one who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”

“Sir,” they said, “give us that bread every day."

Jesus replied, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry again. Whoever believes in me will never be thirsty."

- John 6:26-35 (New Living Translation)


And here I am still trying to fill myself with Wendy's Jr.Cheeseburger Deluxes. 99 cents each. Cheap substitutes for the real deal.

Jesus is enough.

One Desire Fast 2012. Out.

thank you thursdays

Top Ten Tuesdays, Working Wednesdays, and now Thank You Thursdays.

Why? Because at least once a week, I want to reflect back and give thanks. I need to do that more. Regain perspective and hope.


This week:
Thankful for family. We're figuring it out.

Family takes real work = understatement of the year.

We wanted to book a professional photographer for our family picture this past week because it's the first time our whole family has been together in the same place for more than 10 hours since.... a couple of years now? But it was Christmas weekend and every photographer was booked so we pulled something together on our own in the living room, last minute. True Yun family-style. Wouldn't have it any other way. We figure things out as we go.

Everyone. Christmas Eve 2011

Mom and the kids (homygosh i'm a giant. seriously.)

Just the guys: me, Dad, John at Princeton Battlefield. Where men stand and fight.

and... i just noticed my hair...

my sister's reaction to my new haircut:
"Ermmm......so where did you get your hair cut again?"

... i'm figuring that out too.

that game

I play that game all the time. And whenever I do, the end result is the same. Imagine for a minute: a game where you can know the outcome every single time because it's the same every time. What would that be like?

You know that game.... The Blame Game. Blame - not to be confused with Credit.

It's the one game where I usually start it, and I am the one who can end it any time I choose. It's really up to me.

How to start The Blame Game:
Think: If only ______
Ask: What is wrong with her/him?
Dwell on: Why me?

How to keep the game going:
Claim: He/she/they/you should have _______
Defend: You don't know me.
Explain: You don't understand...

How to end the game:
Take: Full responsibility. No matter what.

Apologize and forgive if necessary.
... it's usually necessary


It's kind of like yelling at the curb after tripping over it. It was already there.


"And why do you look at the speck in your brother's eye, but do not perceive the plank in your own eye?" - Luke 6:41

full

A friend was sharing with me earlier that he was just tired. Not your everyday, "I could've slept a bit earlier" tired, but... tired. You know, tired.

Tired from working. Tired from worrying. Tired from over-thinking things. Tired from smiling on the outside when you're gasping for breath on the inside. Tired from trying to steer the reins of life and taking control. Tired from trying to prove yourself. That tired.

I'm starting to understand Jesus more and more:

Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you'll recover your life. I'll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me - watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won't lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep good company with me and you'll learn to live freely and lightly.
- Matthew 11:28-30 (The Message translation)

I'm thankful that despite my tired condition, I am filled with this unexplainable peace from God.

My heart is full. My soul, at rest.

Working Wednesdays: Co-Workers

A bit of a misnomer, since for now, I have most Wednesdays off from work... but I digress....

Co-workers: Besides my roommates, the people I see most throughout the week.

Usually the first people I see every morning, my co-workers are usually the ones to ask, "How's it going today?" and often the first ones we get to debrief with about what we did last night. "So, what did you last night? What did you do over the weekend?" and bouncing off ideas of what to do next: "What are you up to this weekend?"

I don't think I know anybody who exclusively talks about work-related things at the workplace. Topics of conversation with co-workers include relationship talk, why other co-workers behave(d) a certain way, dreams about our future, explaining how our families are like, why you studied that major in school, describing our hometowns, etc.

The truth is that for most of us we consider life outside of work "real life". So work then becomes this bubble that we desperately try not to mix in with everything else. Work often becomes a departure from "everything else", so it oddly becomes the space in which we can reminisce, reflect and reference our "real lives".

Our relationships with our co-workers may start off as strictly professional, but they usually morph into sounding boards for other aspects of our lives so we can get refocused and re-inspired after work.

The actual work itself can be enjoyable. But even the most enjoyable work - even if it's your "passionate interest" can get old = human nature. That whole, "I love my job! I wake up every morning excited to see what's in store!" .... true - but c'mon now, only on some days.

I had this conversation the other day about the difference between college life and working life (I still live in a college town). Why are college students so fickle and emotional rollercoasters? They're all over the place. It's because their environments are not designed for stability and consistency. That's not necessarily bad - because that makes for the perfect breeding ground for idealism, exploration and creativity.

Something that people get tripped up over in the working life? How structured and mundane and "same old same old" it can get. And one of the key things to getting through the work week? Solid co-workers that you can connect with on a human-level and just be yourself around - especially when your work can make you feel like you're a small gear in a big unrelenting impersonal machine.

What's more important when I'm on a road trip? The actual destination? The weather? Road conditions? Rest stop availabilities? Type of car I'm driving? More than those, it's the passengers I'm with. If life is more about the journey than the destination itself, then what makes for a good journey is good company.

Why do I do what I do? I can say "for God". True. But how did my idea, expression and understanding of God even come into being? Rubbing lots of shoulders with lots of people. Because there were people in my life who got me to where I am today to even allow me to do what I do. Others. It's what keeps me going.

Enjoy and appreciate your co-workers. The reciprocation makes work worth it.