susan

ahhh i dont know about you guys, but i am going crazy right now haha

i really loved praise night, and for teh immediate couple of hours i really felt overflowed with just GOD hahaha.

since i did just do homework for an hour and a half (at which some of you may scoff - i suck at studying and have absolutely no endurance), i kind of feel like giving a mini-testimony. and also sharing my life story. i think it'd be kind of cool if we did that too. 

so to add on to christine's confessions, let's also share our life stories and maybe even testimonies. haha.

1) CONFESSIONS: i judge everyone all the time --" i can't help it hahahaha. and then i feel bad when they turn out to be nice but i judge them anyway. which is awful but i think it's a self-defense type of thing. i'm working on it.

2) LIFE STORY: born in yokohama, japan, lived there till i was seven; lived in burnaby, vancouver, bc, canada for eight months, then moved to a burb of chi-town where i now reside. also i love/am obsessed with F4 (the first one and the most superiorest one). if you dont know who they are, go google them. and until then we can no longer be acquaintances.

3) TESTIMONY: soooo this is really weird. because if you asked me even five months ago about God i would'ev told you that this whole christianity thing was ridiculous and that there is absolutely no reason for me (or anyone, for that matter) to believe. anyway, even when i first came to america (fob alert...haha) my parents didnt really know a lot of people, so we started going to these bible study group things right? except my parents didnt really believe so then we stopped going. but during that time i went to vacation bible school and all that jazz. my freshman year in high school, i went on a church retreat with a friend. but as my high school years went by, i could only go to youth groups once in a while with friends - my parents went asian on me and told me that i wasn't allowed to go to church becasue i had to study instead and get into a good college (now known as penn haha). so anyway at the end of my senior year, my ap physics teacher gave me a bible and a copy of mere christianity. and while i was packing for college, i decided to bring it with me.

my first semester of college was really hard. i came out of summer having spent nearly every day with my two best friends. i missed them terribly, but even worse, i felt like one of them - the guy - was just drifting so far from me. he got involved with his church right away (like im sure some of you did with gcc). ironically, he goes to hmcc, which is also part of ami. anyway, i was so angry at him and hurt and stuff because he didnt seem to care or have time or whatever anymore (i think this was especially problematic because i kinda liked him over the summer and blahblahblah). beacsue he WAS christian and very god-focused all of a sudden, i was the opposite. to spite him. to be stubborn/angry. whatever. 

but somehow little signs keps popping up. for example, oneo f the activiites i joined here was penn music mentoring. the two girls that i went with were both christian - one of them goes to living water and i cant remember which one the other goes to - and after i'd argued with the kid from the last paragraph, i started asking questions about christianity. after all, this wasnt the first tiem that it had been exposed in my life, and maybe i was curious after all. so one of the girls brought me to FOG - freshmen of god. 

now this is where oneo f you comes in - jabez. haha. so i was facebook stalking (sorry jabez...) and then i saw that jabez seemed very strongly christian and so i snooped adn found that he went to a chruch called gcc. by this time i had semi-made up with guy from paragrph 2 so i told him about gcc, to which he said "what? like ami?" and i wasl ike "idk" but it turns out they are sister churches, right? so i made up my mind and jabez took me to my first ever service. and i like to think that it was at that service that i "became christian" (idk why but i have serious issues using that phrase - i dont likie puttnig a label on it). it was powerful and i ermember just asking God to help me to stop wavernig back and forth. my entire high school career had been praying some nights, not caring others. and i was sick of falling away but coming back. i wanted to stay.

...and now here i am. wheeeee.

back to homework/studying =(

justine.

Hello everybody!

How has your week been? Hope you guys are doing well, and that those who are fasting during Lent are staying strong ^^

I was just thinking about how tomorrow is praise night, and at the beginning of the week, it seemed like our family group's skit was in bits and pieces. But yesterday we practiced and had the screening, and I saw everything come together and was just amazed by it all. I think praise night is going to be totally awesome, and I just know that many seeds will be planted tomorrow night. Definitely keep praying for it, guys! And if you haven't already, it's definitely not too late to invite people :)

I also wanted to ask for prayer for a friend who is struggling in church back at home. She serves on one of the ministries there, and things seem to be getting really legalistic. She feels constantly burnt out and sometimes, it's hard to see where God fits into the picture. I can totally relate to what she's going through because I went through the exact same thing last summer, but my friend was always there to keep me accountable. It's really hard right now because I can't be there for her and every time we talk, I can just see how she's struggling all by herself. So yeah, if you could pray for her, that would be totally awesome. She's going off to college next year, so I guess also pray that she can not lose faith and will try to find a good church to plug herself into next year, a place where she won't be burdened with only duties and obligations, but instead be spiritually fed and loved.

Thanks, guys :) See you all tomorrow night!

christine

Hey guys,
So I thought of something during today's message.

Confessions and accountability.

I went to a youth retreat with my home church over Winter Break, and instead of the typical altar call, the speaker asked people to publicly confess sins that they were struggling with. I think it's true that we might not want to admit our faults because we're fearful that the people around us will judge us for our faults. But everyone's got things to admit, big or small.

Until confession happens, healing cannot begin. And until you confess to someone else, there's no one to keep you accountable.

So... I don't know. I thought maybe we could use this blog as a springboard, maybe, to talk about things that we deal with. Especially because Lent is coming up. We might all be giving up things, but some of us may need more accountability than others, and where better to find accountability from our brothers and sisters?

Maybe you're uncomfortable with sharing what you're struggling with, and that's totally legit. But I encourage you all to definitely share with someone. Two (or more) are stronger than one.

I thought I might share something that's really been on my mind lately. Because some of you read this blog, I hope you can help me be accountable, or maybe help pray for me about it.

I suck at Devotionals.

I didn't do them in high school. Or ever, really. Not that I didn't think about God, but I never really spent one-on-one time with Him. But it's an awesome feeling, you know - to bring every day to God at some point? Now, in college, I want to be consistent with approaching Him. I've been waking up even earlier than usual lately just because I want to have a clear mind and start my day focused on God. But I find that when I get to start QT-ing, my mind is already filled with worries: assignments that are due soon, upcoming quizzes, how cold it is outside, etc.

It really frustrates me that when I finally become consistent with a time to QT, I find myself not approaching God in the way that I should. I subconsciously rush myself through it even though I've set aside a lot of time. And it's just not good for how I start my days with God.

I don't know how you guys are with QT-ing, but I always feel like I'm subpar in that category compared with other people. If you could pray for me, or maybe if you see me during the day just ask how my QTs are, that would be really helpful and encouraging. Thanks a lot!

So, confession: Hi, my name is Christine, and I struggle with devotionals.

susan

you know what ive been thinking about these past few days?

yesterday at fg a question came out: "who is it hard to love?" 

and of course these answers came out first: parents, siblings, friends, etcetc.

but then i was just thinking (and whoever's in my fg will remember)....

it is so difficult to love God. 

it sounds atrocious, right? i thought that i would get kicked out of fg for even saying that out loud haha. but the thing is, it is so difficult to love someone that you literally cannot see. He's so intangible. people say all the time: "how do you know he's there?" because that's the thing: this isn't a "see-and-believe" type relationship. this is a wholly based on faith type relationship, but then what makes it real?

it's so easy to say "i have faith." so, so, so easy to just always repeat "i love God," "i love Jesus," slipping in ever so many "i love yous" as we pray. but sometimes for me those are just words, and it isn't until i step back and evaluate: do i really love God? how can i love someone who i've never ever met? someone that i attribute all these great things to yeah but i've still never met him. it's so so so so difficult to truly, actually, really love God. and to not only say it but to also know it, mean it and feel it. 

on a lighter but also sad note, i lost a necklace today. as of this school year, i have broke a necklace, lost a necklace, had a friend lose a necklace she bought for me, and lost another necklace. what a bad necklace school year. the last time i saw this particular lost necklace was actually at retreat, but i can't remember if i brought it home or not. sighs.

justine.

Hey everybody!

Just to let you know...IT'S WEDNESDAY!
and in 23 minutes, it will be THURSDAY!

So be happy! And if you're feeling stressed, YOU CAN DO IT! :D

---
So do not fear, for I am with you;
do not be dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you and help you;
I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

-Isaiah 41:10


YAY YAY YAY YAY YAY!

Jabez

Woot, first guy post!

Anyways, I think I can speak on behalf on the guys that we are real glad that our Valentine's surprise made all you GCC 2012 sisters happy. We won't lie and said that we had it all exactly planned out but we are glad that our attempt at showing our appreciation for the sisters at GCC went pretty well =).

I think I'm going to start reading this blog now, I just found out about it today, what a newb eh? Hopefully we can get more os GCC 2012ers to participate so that this will be a real nice way of communicating to everyone if needed.

Peace_-_-Jabez

justine.

I read this blog!

Just wanted to say to all the guys THANKS SO MUCH FOR TONIGHT! The Valentine's Day surprise was really sweet and awesome. The home-made bakes were very impressive, as were the roses :) So yay! Thanks again, it really cheered me up, especially after my not-so-good week.

christine

Hi -- who actually reads the blog? Haha.

Hope everyone who attended the retreat had a great time with friends, met new people, and encountered God in powerful and moving ways.

Anyways, I just felt sort of inspired to share these online devos that I loove reading. I know that there are many updated versions for this book, but I like the original, older-English text. Maybe someone will find these as enjoyable as I do? :]
Streams in the Desert

Have a blessed week!




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Prayer Points:
1. That people will use this so that we can strengthen our fellowship and grow as sisters and brothers in Christ. (Susan)

Questions:
1. Where do you guys want to go for Spring Break? (Joy)