Where Do We Begin?

Last night, we had our monthly Youth Meeting. This involves the leaders and staff in the Youth Ministry (Youth President, Vice President, secretaries) and those who deal with the youth on a regular basis. We were faced with a difficult question: how to reach those in our ministry? Our problem area seems to be our high school students. I know why, they are at an age where they are curious and don't want to stick to one thing; but to be involved in everything! The youth these days have it a lot harder than those who were their age decades before them. A lot of them come from broken homes, single parent households, the ghetto, and are dealing with drugs, sex, gangs, gay & lesbian issues, etc. The only way to able to reach them is to tackle them one by one. We have to address each person so we can figure out how to reach them. We can't put them in a group because each child is different. I have the blessing and the curse of being close to the age group that we're targeting. The blessing: being able to know what they are going through. The curse: Having to sign up for unlimited texting so I don't put my phone bill through the roof, lol. But seriously, I know how hard our work is going to be for us but with the strength that only God can give, we will be able to lead them all in the right direction.

It Takes Time....

Normally in this society if nothing works, we automatically want to throw it out and replace it with a new one. We don't get warranties anymore because we can always upgrade later. We are always looking for something bigger, better, thinner, smaller, and faster; even in the aspect of our growth. We don't want to slow down and repair ourselves, we want a quick fix. Diet pills, cleansers, anything to speed up the process instead of taking it day by day. I find myself thinking like that sometimes. I want to be able to do Pointe (dancing on your toes in Ballet) but it takes time. You have to strengthen your core, your legs and ankles before the teacher will consider you for Pointe classes. It's better to slowly build from the inside out than to jump right into the outside structure. It won't stand without a proper foundation. We have to constantly remind ourselves it's a daily process.....Any who, my job is having you a "Roadshow". In the insurance biz, that's a meet and greet during the day where you introduce your lines of insurance with hope of working with new brokers/clients. So it means it's really quiet at work; I love this time of year. In this quiet I feel comfortable, I feel like I can relax....I was talking to my mother this morning about who else? Mr. Darcy! I told her that we are so in love with the idea of him that no real man stands a chance. It brought to mind the sermon from Friday's Youth Service. We tell God what we want or what person we have in mind and sometimes it's nothing like the person God has for us. We become so in love with an idea that it prevents us from being able to love the actual person when they are brought before us.

Same Direction

I didn't go to church yesterday because I woke up late from the late night prepping for my niece's birthday. I ended getting up around 11 and decided I needed to do laundry since I missed Morning & Mid-Morning Services. I even considered visiting one of the churches in my neighborhood but since they're all Spanish speaking churches I had to rule that out. Any who; as I was coming and going from the Laundromat and my apartment (I live across the street from the Laundromat) listening to my French lessons, I started to think; "can they see the difference?" I was walking in the midst of Christians getting out from service. The youth were more casual then mine; they were wearing jeans and sneakers; hanging outside of the church talking and joking amongst themselves. I wanted to know if people could see the difference. I wasn't in my usual Sunday attire but could they see the Jesus in me? We are all walking in the same direction at one point in our lives; but does anyone notice when we walk in the opposite direction? I want to be set apart in not words only but in deed; and that's where it gets hard for a lot of us. How do we show we're a Christian without shouting it from the rooftops and walking around wearing a label? We have to make sure they see it when we talk, and walk; every action should mimic Jesus.

My, My, My....Someone's Getting Big

Today is my niece 2nd Birthday! I am a proud and doting aunt/godmother! I remember the day she was born, it was a Friday. I ran to the store to buy receiving blankets, wash cloths, baby wash, the works. I can tell you when I saw her it was love at first sight. She was this little, pink bit of nothing that was looking at everything and everyone. My brother was a mess that day; I knew once he held her, he was a goner. She got bigger, fatter, and independent. She was pulling herself by 4-5 months and walking by 6 months. At 7, she running EVERYWHERE! Now she is 2 years old going on 35. She knows all the key words: please, thank you, yes, no, why, stop, etc. We have this family joke that she can say sentences. People expect her to do it when all she can say is the word "sentences", lol. She's a blessing from God. I thank God for her everyday; even when she is climbing on my bed to put on my jewelry, getting under my the covers with me, or when she is wearing auntie's stilettos (which she loves to do).

ToGetHer / K.O.3anguo

Friends worry with a smile, lovers worry with a frown.

That is a line i learned through this new drama I'm watching. Of course it's translated by me :P

Mars is a superstar whose popularity went downhill after a series of negative publicity. His finances went into red alert and he had to find a place to live. He ended up renting a place from Mo Mo, his agoraphobic homebody landlord. He befriended her and her childhood friend Jia Sen, a swimming captain with the intelligence of an 8-year-old.

Alternative Title: 愛就宅一起/Ai Jiu Zhai Yi Qi (translated would be ToGetHer or Superstar Express)
Genre: Comedy, Romance
Film Date: February, 2009
Taiwan Casts:
George Hu, Jiro Wang, Linda Liao, Rainie Yang

It's so cute! but Rainie's character kind of freaks me out...

Watch it on Youtube (no sub but uploads earlier)
Watch it with English subtitles

Here's the first Episode with subtitles:


Another Drama that I've been watching is K.O.3anguo.

After getting kicked out from their 24th school for starting fights and couldn't find another school that would accept them, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei thought it's a God send that Liu Bei proposed to be their sworn brothers so they could enroll into the prestigious Dong Han Shu Yuan, a school exclusively for royalty, on the condition that they pay for his tuition. Though they enrolled, it didn't mean they attended the class in peace because they must survive the school's death traps and hostile invasion from warring schools.

Alternative Title: 終極三國 / Zhong Ji San Guo
Genre: Fantasy
Film Date: February, 2009
Taiwan Casts:
Bu Xue Liang, Cai Yi Zhen, Chen Bo Zheng, George Hu, Lee Shiau Shiang, Lin Bo Yan, Zhang Hao Ming

Watch it on Youtube (no sub but uploads earlier)

Watch it with English subtitles

Here's the first Episode with subtitles:

~Lily

Shopping!

Today was the best day ever! You know why? I got to go SHOPPING! Well for my niece more than me but it was a great experience because I haven't done it in so long. I bought my niece the cutest khaki outfit from the GAP with a suede fringe bag (adorable!), a Vtech Laptop, a dress up play shoes (so she won't wear mine anymore, lol). I was doing well until I passed Aldo, they had a pair of black patent leather cut-out lace up oxfords that screamed my name. So.....I bought them. And since I had new shoes, I needed new clothes to go with it (it's only right. lol): I bought 2 pairs of skinny trouser pants from H&M (black and grey), a navy boyfriend button down cardigan, a v-neck rose color sweater from Banana Republic and a light blue with a satin trim neck t-shirt from Banana Republic as well, a short black trench coat (very Katharine Hepburn) and a Calvin Klein white tunic. I was very good, lol. That was all I bought for myself (and argyle socks too, lol). I also bought the new Parallel Bible (KJV/Amplified) and French Lessons on CD (to brush up my accent) from Barnes & Noble. I am such a dork because I considered that a treat to myself. After I was done, I had too many bags and my back was hurting me so bad. Imagine how much fun I had getting on a packed NYC train with all those packages. SMH. Let me start wrapping my niece's birthday presents before I fall asleep.

Kristen Stewart - Cold Creek Manor

In 2003 Kristen Stewart played in Cold Creek Manor roled as Kristen Tilson...

Cold Creek Manor is a 2003 thriller film directed by Mike Figgis.

Cold Creek Manor tell about... Wanting to escape the city life for the countryside, New Yorkers Cooper Tilson (Dennis Quaid), his wife Leah (Sharon Stone) and their two children move into a dilapidated old mansion still filled with the possessions of the previous family. Turning it into their dream house soon becomes a living nightmare when the previous owner Dale Massie shows up, perusing over the families old photos. A series of terrifying incidents lead them on a search for clues to the estate's dark and lurid past. They find out Dale killed his family and threw their bodies to rot in the Devil's Throat, an old well near the property in the woods. He tries to kill them, but fails and dies. Cooper, Leah and their two kids continue to live there and move on with their lives.

Filmed in Cambridge, Ontario (Blair) and Ayr, Ontario.

Cast
* Dennis Quaid – Cooper Tilson
* Sharon Stone – Leah Tilson
* Stephen Dorff – Dale Massie
* Kristen Stewart – Kristen Tilson
* Christopher Plummer – Mr. Massie
* Dana Eskelson – Sheriff Ferguson
* Juliette Lewis - Ruby