sigh. 27 years old. the past few years, i usually got really depressed around my birthday. with every year that went by, i had nothing to show except that i was just getting older. i would usually get really depressed and act all emo. exclaiming that i would not be doing anything for my birthday this year but later end up setting something up last minute because i realized that i was just too vulnerable and weak to actually spend my birthday alone at home... my birthdays would usually end up with me facedown on the floor somewhere and then waking up the next morning in a foreign location half naked or something... no wonder i was so depressed.
this year something is different and i have a good idea of what it is... i couldn't be more happy for my birthday this year. im excited to spend it with my closest friends and my family. im excited about the progress i've made this past year and where He is going to lead me in the near future. i am so thankful for each and every individual He has placed in my life with purpose & love. i can love others because he first loved me and how awesome is that?
we had an engaging conversation last night during thurs. night fellowship regarding John 14 and what that chapter means to us on a more personal level. i remember demanding that God reveal himself to me and then, and only then would i choose to follow him faithfully. who am i to challenge God? i remember i had demanded this from Him back in 2002. i was driving back to la from sf after breaking up with my gf at the time... i felt so alone and weak. it's funny how we only seek Him out and challenge Him when we want to, on our time... how selfish i was. and to top it off, i wasn't even ready to take a leap of faith. looking back now, i know that God answered my prayer that night, i just didn't know it at the time. during my next year at csun, God carefully and purposely placed many strong Christians in my life, some were even my roommates! at the time i didn't think much of it, but now as i look back, i am so grateful. what are the odds that these random people on an student exchange program from hawaii would end up being my roommates and closest friends? i am so grateful now for each and every one of them, but more importantly i am so very grateful to God. not only did i challenge God, i challenged him on my time and when i still wasn't even ready to believe. yet He still answered my call and showed himself to me through his many other children. amazing.
so yes, i think this birthday is going to be a great one. i kind of treat it as my first birthday with Him and firsts are always fun and exciting. linguists claim that if you read something 48 times it becomes yours and you will fully obtain the information. so with this coming year i vow to read the word as much as possible, so much that i can refer to scriptures throughout my daily life as a guideline. i want to be able to encounter God through His words.
on an end note, i actually spoke with one of my friends from hawaii recently and he sent me this video clip of his church in hawaii and their Easter service. i was truly blown away by the things God is doing over there on that small island!
- 1,100 "yes" packets were distributed
- 648 people received Jesus Christ as their Lord & Savior
- 28,054 people attended services all weekend long
- 100's of volunteers working for an "audience of one."
God is good all the time. all the time, God is good. amen.
Easter Highlights 2010 :: New Hope Oahu from STUDIO:RED on Vimeo.
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