Category: Bible

Bible, Health, Lifestyle, Self Improvement, Self-Discovery

The Body Tells You (And So Does the Spirit)

Featuredby Jheni1 Comment on The Body Tells You (And So Does the Spirit)

In the past few years, I’ve been struggling with my body image.  I’ve gone up two dress sizes because my midsection seemed to get bigger and bigger with each year since my early 40’s.  Earlier this year, I started a metabolic typing eating plan to increase my protein and decrease my intake of refined carbs and processed foods.  After following the eating plan, I found that I was no longer gaining weight, but I also wasn’t losing weight either.  I was convinced that there was something more going on, so I went to my doctor and got a detailed bloodwork done to check for any irregularities. 

My bloodwork results came back with some answers to why I had been feeling so tired, unmotivated, depressed, and achy along with the weight gain:  My testosterone level showed to be very low, and I tested positive for Candida fungal infection.  My doctor prescribed a couple of anti-fungal medicines as well as half a dozen different supplements, and I began TRT (Testosterone Replacement Therapy).  I’m still in the beginning stage of TRT (and the dose is very low), so I’m not feeling any different yet.

There’s a part of me that’s relieved to get some answers, because for years, I thought I was just being undisciplined or just plain lazy.  I felt validated that my pains, fatigue, depression, etc. were not just something my mind came up with; there really was a medical explanation to my malaise.  There was, however, a part of me that wished I did something about it sooner.  All these years, my body was trying to get my attention to tell me to get myself checked, but I ignored it and chalked it up to getting older and dealing with flare-ups from previous injuries.  How often do we ignore these signs from our bodies?  And how often do we ignore distress calls from our soul and the Holy Spirit?  A biblical example of ignoring the spiritual signs is in Numbers 22:

“Balaam got up in the morning, saddled his donkey and went with the Moabite officials. But God was very angry when he went, and the angel of the Lord stood in the road to oppose him. Balaam was riding on his donkey, and his two servants were with him. When the donkey saw the angel of the Lord standing in the road with a drawn sword in his hand, it turned off the road into a field. Balaam beat it to get it back on the road.
Then the angel of the Lord stood in a narrow path through the vineyards, with walls on both sides. When the donkey saw the angel of the Lord, it pressed close to the wall, crushing Balaam’s foot against it. So he beat the donkey again.
Then the angel of the Lord moved on ahead and stood in a narrow place where there was no room to turn, either to the right or to the left. When the donkey saw the angel of the Lord, it lay down under Balaam, and he was angry and beat it with his staff. Then the Lord opened the donkey’s mouth, and it said to Balaam, “What have I done to you to make you beat me these three times?” Balaam answered the donkey, “You have made a fool of me! If only I had a sword in my hand, I would kill you right now.” The donkey said to Balaam, “Am I not your own donkey, which you have always ridden, to this day? Have I been in the habit of doing this to you?” “No,” he said. Then the Lord opened Balaam’s eyes, and he saw the angel of the Lord standing in the road with his sword drawn. So he bowed low and fell facedown.”
Numbers 22:21-31

Are we like Balaam, where we don’t see the signs that God is sending us? 

I have a gauge or my spiritual health: If I start fearing what people think about me, I know I need to be in God’s presence more.  When I spend more time with him in the Word, meditation and prayer, God reminds me over and again who I am and who’s I am.  When I’m reminded of God’s love for me — and really believe it with all that I am — I find myself caring less about what others think of me. 

It’s important to take care of our physical bodies as well as our spiritual bodies.  God has given us this physical body as a gift, which is a vessel for who we really are; and who we really are is the soul and spirit.  In fact, we must make sure our body, soul and spirit are all ready to meet Jesus face to face.  In 1 Thessalonians 5:23, it reads, “May God Himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and though.  May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

May we all stop and listen when the body AND spirit speak to us.

With Gratitude,
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Bible, Christian, Lifestyle, Self Improvement, Self-Discovery, Yoga

Holding Space for Each Other

Featuredby JheniLeave a Comment on Holding Space for Each Other

As a Yoga Teacher, I often hear and use terms like, “being centered,” and “feeling the breath.”  These aren’t just meaningless, fluffy phrases; I understand and experience these game-changing phrases; however, the one phrase that stumped me the first time I heard it was “holding space for each other.”  It wasn’t that I didn’t understand the words in this phrase; I just couldn’t fully grasp what holding space looked like.  After many hours of teaching and living my yoga practice, I have a better understanding of what this phrase means (at least to me).

Creating an Imaginary Safehouse.

I’m very visual and imaginative, so I like to picture creating walls around me and the one I’m holding space for.  Sometimes I like to picture a room with four walls, or a room with one circular wall that wraps around.  I imagine the room to be filled with bright white light.  These visualizations helps me to calm my mind and let go of any distractions so that I can be fully present for the other person.

Letting Go of All Judgement.

When we hold space for someone, it’s important to put ourselves in their shoes completely.  In order to hold space for someone else effectively, we must check biases and opinions outside of the imaginary room.  It’s not easy to let go of all judgment, but by practicing this, we will grow in our empathy toward others.

Listen. 

According to Merriam-Webster dictionary, listening is defined as “to hear something with thoughtful attention: give consideration,” whereas hearing is defined as the “process, function, or power of perceiving sound.”  When we give thoughtful attention and consideration to what we’re hearing, it’s called listening.  When we listen — really listen — we don’t formulate opinions, solutions or advice while the other person is talking, which leads me to the next one…

Do Not React Negatively.

I have learned the secret to being a parent that guides their teenager without telling him/her what to do.  Not that I have mastered it, but it is a golden nugget that I try to practice as often as I can with my daughter.  When my daughter shares things with me — whether it be random, light-hearted things or deep, vulnerable things in her heart — I don’t react out of emotions.  Sure, there are times when I want to get upset, but I made a choice to always listen, thank her for being open, and ask, “Is there anything else?” (or a similar phrase that’s appropriate for the occasion.)  With adults, I try to practice the same concept.  The minute we give a negative or an opinionated reaction, we’re no longer holding space for others.

Give Advice or Offer Solutions (Unless They Ask). 

This is another “secret” I learned in holding space for others.  When my daughter opens up to me about a problem or a struggle, I ask her questions that will get her talking more so that she can come to a solution on her own.  After doing this for a while, if she can’t seem to figure out a solution, I ask her if she would like my input.  If she says yes, I give her advice but make sure that she doesn’t feel judged by the words that I use or by the tone of my voice.  If she says no — which rarely happens —  I simply thank her for her honesty and tell her that I’ll be praying for her.  There are times though, when she will tell me she would like my advice even before she starts talking, which makes it much easier to navigate.  With adults, I rarely move into an advisor role unless they specifically ask me for advice or input.

Thank Them for Trusting You. 

Whether a child or adult, everybody likes to be thanked.  When someone is willing to enter our space and take the chance of being vulnerable with us, we should always express our gratitude.  It takes a lot of courage for anybody to open up and share their hearts.  By thanking them, it keeps us humble and it allows them to feel safe to be in the space you’re holding for them… and perhaps, they will hold space for you in the future when you may need it.

One of my favorite passages in the Bible about Jesus holding space for others is when He saved the woman caught in adultery in John 8:1-11.  While everyone wanted to stoned her to death, Jesus held space for her so that she can repent and live a life that God has always intended her to live.  There are so many other examples of Jesus holding space for people, such as children in Matthew 19:13-15 and Zacchaeus the Tax Collector in Luke 19:1-10.

Do to others as you would have them do to you.

Luke 6:31

I pray that we all practice holding space for each other so that we can  increase love and light in this world.

With Gratitude,
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Dreams and Desires

Featuredby JheniLeave a Comment on Dreams and Desires

I’ve known that I wanted to be a dancer since I was four years old.  Not the traditional Korean fan dancing that was so part of my culture in South Korea.  I wanted to be a one of those professional dancers that would dance behind pop singers.  I had rhythm, but I wasn’t by any means a natural-born dancer.  I took dance classes offered at my kindergarten, and I participated in dance performances in elementary school while I was living in Seoul.  When we moved to the United States (Los Angeles), I started taking ballet at a local dance studio.  I was a decent ballerina, but I was told by the director of the dance studio that I was not built for ballet (meaning, I wasn’t thin enough).  I was discouraged, but my stubborn streak kept me from giving up. 

After two years of ballet, I switched over to jazz dance.  This is also around the time when MTV actually stood for Music Television.  My bestfriend and I watched dance music videos for hours, trying to learn intricate choreographies performed by Michael Jackson, Janet Jackson, and Paula Abdul.  MTV and the T.V. Show Fame shaped my dreams to greater heights.  In high school and college, I took a lot of hip-hop and jazz dance classes at the renowned Millennium Dance Complex  in North Hollywood (formerly Moro Landis Dance Studio of Studio City).  Being surrounded by top choreographers and dancers of Hollywood influenced me to pursue the same life that they were leading: Auditions for gigs, acting classes, more dance classes, manager, agent… the whole nine yards.  By the time I was 19, I  felt like I was living my dreams; but there was still a part of me that felt void of true fulfillment… And that’s when I found Jesus.

When I became a baptized disciple of Christ on 3/15/94, I knew my true purpose in life for the very first time in my life.  My purpose was to share with others the Good News of Jesus and God’s amazing plan through His love, grace and mercy,  Although I still loved dancing, I found myself being led to have a different focus.  Since then, I have had several shifts in my dreams and passions, but none compares to the new dream He put on my heart a few years ago.  In 2019, I wrote my first book titled, “BE STILL: The Power of Biblical Meditation.”  Becoming an author is something I hoped would happen, but my insecurities and fear of being vulnerable stopped me in the past from writing past just a couple of pages.  But the reason I decided and was able to finish writing a book was because one day during my meditative communion with God, He told me that if I did not write the book, I would be disobeying Him.  So, I decided to obey Him and make the completion of my book 100% about obedience and 0% about me.  Ever since the publication of my book, He has been stirring in my heart in such an intense way that I’m driven to do only the things He desires for me to do.  In saying this, I must tell you that I’m no way near perfect at obeying Him and listening to Him all the time, but this is my deepest wish and dream. 

“Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart,”
Psalm 37:4 

So often, we read the above scripture and think, if I delight in Him, He will give me whatever I want.”  Through living the past 27 years walking in the Lord, the Holy Spirit has revealed to me that what this really means is that if I delight in Him (if I’m in love with Him and find joy in everything about Him), my desires will transform into the desires He has for my life.

Everyday, I tell God that I only want to pursue the dreams that are His dreams for me.  This may seem limiting to some people, but for me, I know that I would be settling and selling myself short if I pursued my dreams instead of His because my imagination and dreams are limited by my humanity; His imagination and dreams and totally unlimited!  He dreams for me things that scare me because I sometimes doubt myself.  But I take comfort and confidence in knowing that, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” (Philippians 4:13)

With Gratitude,
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Becoming You

Featuredby Jheni2 Comments on Becoming You

Ever since I was a kid, I’ve pondered over philosophical questions such as, “What is the meaning of life,” “What is my purpose,” “Who am I,” or “Am I the sum of my experiences?” Okay, so I didn’t ponder that last question until I was going through my initial 200-hour yoga teacher training program… but I have always thought about deeper matters of life (which kind of made me look weird in the eyes of my fellow classmates in preschool). I’ve been on a spiritual journey of Svadhyahya (Sanskrit for “self-study”) on a deeper level ever since I became a Christian in 1994, and I’ve come to realize that the more I learn, the more I realize that I don’t know anything to its deepest level. One of the ways I progress in my journey is through Bible sermons.

Yesterday at church, we had the privilege of hearing a sermon from a guest speaker, Daren Overstreet, who is the Lead Evangelist of Seattle Church or Christ in Washington State. The title of his message was, “Eight Words for 2021” and the eight words were, “For we live by faith, not by sight.” (II Corinthians 5:7). One of the points he made from his sermon — that grabbed my attention — was that, “what you fix your eyes on becomes you.”

My iPhone gives me a report of my phone usage, and yesterday, the breakdown was as follows:

  • Health & Fitness: 3h 9m
  • Social: 1h 28m
  • Productivity & Finance: 54m
  • Information & Reading: 38m
  • Travel: 26m
  • Utilities: 24m
  • Creativity: 15m
  • Shopping & Food: 1m
  • Entertainment: 2s

According to my report, the apps that I spent the most time using was Health & Fitness, and Information & Reading was only 38m; and just 20 minutes of that was reading my Bible. Not that spending time in Health & Fitness apps is wrong, but I really had to ask myself what my eyes are fixed on. What is becoming me?

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses,
let us throw off everything that hinders…”
Hebrews 12:1a

What is hindering you from becoming the Authentic You?

Several years back, my husband and I went to a festival in Grapevine, TX. I wanted to dress up a bit that day, so I decided to wear a pair of heels with my outfit. Everything was going well until we arrived at the event and realized that the nearby parking lots were full. I wasn’t too worried, since I was used to wearing heels for an extended period of time. But what I didn’t count on was the uphill walking we had to do after we parked the car. By the time we were done at the festival, we started heading back to the car… going downhill, with my heels on! I’m not sure if you’ve seen anyone walk downhill with heels on, but it’s not a pretty sight. Halfway into our walk back, I decided to take my shoes off and walk barefoot. So that day, the hinderance to walking comfortably was my choice in footwear. The smarter thing would have been to wear different shoes, but I did the next smart thing and eventually took my shoes off.

So often, we continue to hold onto things that hinder us from being the best version of ourselves even though throwing those hinderances off would lighten our burdens — all because we don’t want to put in the effort to let them go. It could be our attitudes about politics/current events, obsession to be right on social media, critical attitudes toward others… the list goes on and on.

At the end of the day, we all want to love and be loved. We all want to feel connected. We all want to live a life of freedom from addictions, bitterness, arrogance, and tension. So what will you do in order to become the most authentic YOU that you can be?

With Gratitude,
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Behind Procrastination

Featuredby JheniLeave a Comment on Behind Procrastination

I can’t believe it. The first quarter of 2021 is already behind us. As I begin the second quarter of this year, I feel tempted to just coast through it because frankly, I’m tired. I feel like I was on hyper-fast mode from January to March, mainly because of a homeschool co-op that my daughter and I were a part of. When the co-op ended two weeks ago, I felt like running through an aisle dancing and singing! It’s been nice to actually get decent amount of sleep and not grade papers, edit articles (I was teaching a Journalism class to middle school and high school students), and drive almost 2 hours roundtrip weekly. I gave myself a week to relax and recover, but I found myself filling up my schedule, which made the goal of getting replenished a bit challenging. I think deep down inside, I knew all along that the reason why I was staying busy is because I didn’t want to get back to preparing for my podcast launch on May 4th. To put it bluntly, I was procrastinating.

“One of these days, is none of these days.”
– H.G. Bohn

There are so many reasons behind why people procrastinate, such as fear of failure, fear of success, misplaced priorities, or just plain apathy. For me, it’s definitely fear of failure in regards to my podcasting. All the steps necessary to make a good podcast feels overwhelming. It’s not just about recording a segment or interviewing someone. It’s the fact that you’re committing to doing this on a regular basis. It’s also the fact that I have to put in the time to create good content that generates interest. As overwhelming as it is, I’m willing to commit and put in the work because this is all for God. Podcasting — just like writing and publishing a book — is not something that I desire to do for my own glory. I’m perfectly fine just teaching fitness, yoga and meditation classes, but God continues to put big dreams on my heart that I can’t shake off of my soul.

He has a way of giving us dreams that burn in our hearts until we accomplish them for His glory.

So now, I must continue to pray. I must continue to listen to His voice through His Word (The Bible), and messages (from nature, people, anything and everything). Lastly, I must put one foot in front of the other and do the next right thing… all for God’s glory!

And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
Colossians 3:17

I pray that your week is productive and pleasing to God!

With Gratitude,
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Know Thyself

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Have you ever met a person who just seems to have no self-awareness?  Of course, there are the obvious indications of behaviors that lack self-awareness, such as arrogance, obnoxiousness, and hypocrisy; but today, we’re going to look at three subtle forms of lacking self-awareness and how they may apply to anyone (including myself):

1. TALKING ABOUT YOURSELF TOO MUCH

I grew up as a performer.  I’ve been acting, singing, dancing and playing the piano since I was in Kindergarten.  Not that I was ever famous, but I’ve had my share of strangers coming up to me after performances to chat. I remember this one time where two ladies came up to me after I performed a song I wrote for a women’s event.  They were very generous with their compliments and asked me questions about my musical training and some general questions about my life.  I walked away from that conversation feeling great… until that evening.  I thought to myself, “I don’t know anything about those two wonderful ladies that I talked to today.”  I realized that I missed a great opportunity to know about their lives and a chance to learn from them (we can learn something from everyone we meet).  So, now I have a rule that I follow: When people ask me questions about myself (especially people that I meet for the first time), I make it a point to ask them questions as well.  I also make sure that I end my responses within 3 minutes.  Lastly, if I notice that the only voice I’ve been hearing for the past 5 minutes is my own, it’s time to wrap it up and ask others some questions about them.

“Proud fools talk too much…”
Proverbs 14:3a

2. NOT KNOWING THE RIGHT TIME OR THE PLACE

Oh boy.  This sums up my adolescent years.  I used to throw out my opinions to anyone and everyone, whether or not they asked for it.  I once talked about a cute boy at a memorial.  I wanted to hang out with my crush during lunch at school instead of being there for my friend whose dad was hospitalized. (My excuse was that she said she wanted to be alone, even though I knew she didn’t really want to be alone.)  I would bring up an inside joke to my friend, knowing well that the girl standing right by her was already feeling left out.  I was very immature as a young teen.  As I became a young adult (age 19 or 20), I was confronted (in a very loving way) by some great friends about my behavior and how it affected people.  When I stepped back and imagined watching myself acting this way, I was mortified!  I realized that what I did and said — good or bad — had a lasting affect on people.  From that point on, I decided that I was going to err on the side of consideration and not assume that “it’s no big deal.”

“Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruits.”
Proverbs 18:21
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control…”
Galatians 5:22-23a

3. ENGAGING IN NEGATIVE SELF-TALK

This one may seem odd to be considered not having self-awareness; but when we engage in negative self-talk, we’re no longer aware of the truth about who we are.

The other day, I was struggling with feeling like I’m worth anybody’s friendship.  Having had  a Birthday recently, I’ve received countless birthday wishes on social media, numerous text messages, a few Birthday voice messages (including an annual birthday song by one of my dear friends, musician Marcus A. Johnson), and even friends who insisted on taking me out to lunch.  As the day approached for my lunch dates with my friends, I started to wonder why they’re friends with me.  I thought to myself, “What do I really bring to the friendship?  They are such loving people who care about everyone. That’s probably why they consider me their friend.”  This thought began a downward spiral, down a rabbit hole of negative self-talk.  About 5 minutes into it (a lot of thoughts can occur in 5 minutes), I took a step back and assessed myself.  I became aware of who I am in Christ once again.  According to John 1:12, I am a child of God.  According to Romans 8:1, I am not condemned (therefore, I should not condemn myself).  According to Ephesians 2:10, I am God’s handiwork, created in Jesus to do good.  And according to1 Thessalonians 1:4, I am loved by God and have been chosen by Him.

Self-awareness isn’t just nurturing to our souls; it’s essential for our spiritual survival.  Without being aware of who we are in Christ, we can not be aware of our true selves as children of God. 

May we all walk in self-awareness on the road to our individual authenticity.

 

With Gratitude,
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My Day is Ruined!

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It was just like other Sunday mornings where I’m trying to grab all my stuff to get into the car quickly so that my family and I can make it to church on time. The very last thing I do is to fill up my tumbler with hot water for my roasted dandelion tea (I stopped drinking caffeinated drinks, so dandelion tea has become my go-to drink in the mornings). After getting settled in the car, I took a sip of my drink and realized that IT WAS LUKEWARM!!! Actually, it was more on the cooler side than lukewarm. I immediately thought to myself, “Ugh! Now my day is ruined! Why wasn’t the water in the electric kettle hot?” But two seconds after my initial thought, I laughed at myself. I mean, how weak of a person am I that I’m going to let a lukewarm drink ruin my entire day? I visualized comparing the size of the cup next to the size of my day. 16 oz. to 24 hours. 16. oz. to 1,440 minutes. 16. oz. to 86,400 seconds! Is my life so insignificant that I’m going to let a 16 oz. beverage dictate an entire day?  How about you?  Do you allow one thing/person/situation “ruin” the rest of your day?

“The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds.”
1 Corinthians 10:4 

Sometimes the “strongholds” we feel seem so much greater in significance or power.  Maybe you took a sip of your coffee/tea and noticed that it was the wrong temperature.  Maybe you received a text from a friend that left you feeling upset, annoyed or angry.  Or maybe you got cut off on the road and the other driver had the audacity to honk at you, yell at you or even give you a “hand gesture of disapproval.”  Maybe you felt wronged or disrespected.  Whatever the thing, person, or situation it may be, I invite you to ask yourself why you’re willing to give away your time, energy, and even your power over to something or someone.

One time, I was driving to an appointment and I started slowing down so that I can make sure I would not miss the driveway to the house.  Because it was a single lane road (going one way and another lane going the other way), the convertible behind me had to slow down… and he did NOT like that.  He decided to speed up and quickly drive around me.  As he cut me off, he gave me that famous three-finger salute and then peeled off.  At first, I got annoyed, but shortly afterwards, I prayed for him to make it home safely and that if he’s having a bad day, God would bring about a sense of peace in his heart.  I was amazed at how quickly I was able to let go of letting that ruin the rest of my day. 

“But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you…”
Matthew 5:44
“A man’s insight gives him patience, and his virtue is to overlook an offense.”
Proverbs 19:11 

So as we go into a new week, I encourage you to live a life of great significance… and a life that’s bigger than a 16 oz. hot beverage.

With Gratitude,
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Humanity in the Eye of the Storm

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I’m a frequent visitor of Wikipedia.  I also donate to the Wikimedia Foundation Inc., which is the non-profit organization behind Wikipedia.  I will explain why I mention Wikipedia after the following Disclaimer 😆:

DISCLAIMER:
Because of my financial situation (my wellness business took a big hit due to the pandemic), I have to be selective of which non-profits I donate to, but I make sure I donate a portion of my income to the causes that I strongly believe in.
(Please do not contact me to ask for donations at this time.  Thank you.🙏)

Did you know that the recent winter storm from a couple of weeks ago already has a page on Wikipedia?  It’s titled, “February 13–17, 2021 North American winter storm.”  According to this article, the winter storm — unofficially known as “Winter Storm Uri” (I call it SNOVID-21) — affected many states across the U.S., with Texas experiencing the worst of it.  (I’m bringing it for a landing here now…)  Being that I live in North Texas, I was part of the millions of Texans that experienced rolling power outages, no WiFi, spotty cell reception, several days of below freezing temperature, frozen pipes, and other related situations that come with living in a state that was not built to handle such freezing weather. 

But in the midst of it all, I had some great realizations about myself and my community.

I woke up on Monday morning to a very cold house.  My face felt frozen, so I immediately buried my face under the thick blanket that was over me.  My husband walked in shortly afterward to tell me about the power outages and that our heater was acting up.  The next several days consisted of us having to manually turn the heater back on every time the power came back on (which resulted in a couple of sleepless nights as my husband and I took turns staying up to reset the heater throughout the night).  Because we had power for about 45 minutes on and 90 minutes off, we would take every “power-on” opportunities to boil water, cook meals (thank God for our Instant Pot!), and recharge our cell phones (mainly to use as flashlights).  I also took advantage of daylight to finish reading my January book, and I even started reading my February book (My goal is to read one book every month). It was a very uncomfortable week and consistently wearing four layers of clothes, but it was also a week of slowing down and detoxing from electronics.

I was reminded that electronics can distract me — more than I realize — from completing tasks and accomplishing goals.

I also saw some amazing hearts of service come out of many people. I had neighbors clearing snow off of people’s driveways (including the driveway of an elderly couple), some risking their safety by driving through multiple cities (in the snow) to collect warm clothes for those in shelters, and hosting friends and family who lost power completely.  I saw post after post from people on NextDoor, Facebook and Instagram, offering whatever resources they had to anyone that may be in need.  This reminded me of what the First Century Christians did in Acts 2:44-45:

“All the believers were together and had everything in common. They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts…”

It was a week I will never forget.  My heart goes out to those who lost their loved ones due to the Winter Storm as well as those still recovering from the damages that the freezing temperatures left behind.  But in the middle of tragedies and losses, I’m grateful and proud to be a part of a community that bands together and looks out for each other.

When things get tough, may we all step up to extend our love and service to those in need.

 

With Gratitude,
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Things I Learned From My Bestfriends – Pt. 2

by Jheni1 Comment on Things I Learned From My Bestfriends – Pt. 2
“Sweet friendships refresh the soul and awaken our hearts with joy,
for good friends are like the anointing oil
that yields the fragrant incense of God’s presence.”
Proverbs 27:9

Last week, I started the four-part series on my best friends and the things I learned from each of them.  This week, I will continue the series by telling you about the best friends I had in my 20’s and 30’s.  I became a baptized Christian as a sophomore in college, so my social circle changed from people that I partied with and went to clubs with, to people who shared the same spiritual goals as me. Instead of filling my insecure heart with momentary pleasures, I filled my time with going to church, devotionals, studying the Bible with people, and hanging out with some amazing people who taught me the love of Christ.

I met F.E. through the girl that invited me to church.  I asked F.E. and a few other girls to study the Bible with me, to teach me what it meant to live a life of a disciple of Christ (aka Christian). The more open I became with F.E. and others about the “good, bad and the ugly” about myself, the more loved I felt by them because they accepted me and cared about me in spite of all the ungodly things I have done.  They also shared openly about their struggles which made me feel even more loved by them.  Even though all the girls that studied the Bible with me were amazing, F.E. and I just bonded in such a natural, sister-like way. She and I became the kind of friends that felt completely secure and safe with each other because there was no judgement, and there was nothing we didn’t talk about.  One of the many things I learned from her was that you can be cool and fabulous while living a life with spiritual boundaries and biblical convictions.  We remained best friends until she moved back to New York, which is where she was originally from.

I met my next two best friends, S.S. and T.R. when I was volunteering as a “Teen Ministry Worker” at my church’s Youth and Family Ministry.  They were both teenagers, so at first, our friendship was more of a Mentor-Mentee relationship, but once they graduated from high school, our friendships transformed into best friendships. S.S. and I spent a lot of time going to the beach, hanging out at the mall, and studying the Bible with people… and T.R. and I enjoyed going to concerts, and other live performances together as well as having late-night (and early morning) talks.  I was in both of their weddings (and they were in mine).  Life took us in different directions shortly after that, but one thing I learned from S.S. is to work hard to achieve goals, and from T.R., I learned the importance of a family bond. (She and her sisters — and their husbands — are still very close to their parents in distance and in heart.)

Once my husband and I entered the stage of being new parents, I went through a really tough time with post-partum depression and the loss of my dad to cancer.  It was also when we moved from California to Texas, so I struggled to connect with people on a spiritual level.  I met T.W. shortly after moving to Texas, and I told her that she was going to be my new best friend.  She was in the Singles Ministry at the church that I was now a part of (which is a sister-church to the one I attended in California), and I was encouraged to have someone in my life that made as much of an effort to spend time with me as I did.  (I found that a lot of my married friends were not as available to hang out as much as my single friend T.W. was.)  One of my favorite memories with T.W. was taking a girls’ trip to California together (along with another one of my single friends in Texas).  I loved introducing them to California and taking them to some of my favorite spots.  I’m so grateful I got to be in her life during her engagement, wedding, and the birth of her twin babies!  One thing I learned from my friendship with T.W. is loyalty.  T.W. is such a gentle soul with immense amount of loyalty to her friends, and that is exactly why God put her in my life when I was going through a hard time spiritually.

For most of my 30’s, I missed having the kind of friendships I did back in college and in my single days.  By the time I entered my 40’s, I convinced myself of the theory that I didn’t need those types of best friendships anymore because my husband was my best friend — he has been my best friend since 2000 — but I still missed having the kind of best friends that other ladies seemed to still have in their lives… and then I met her.  I met my next best friend in my early 40’s, and she proved my theory wrong!  You’ll get to meet her in my blog next week. 😉 

Also, if any of my guy best friends from the past are reading this and wondering why you have not been mentioned… I am dedicating an entire blog to you guys in Part 4 of my best friends series!  💜

 

With Gratitude,
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Missing a Streak

by JheniLeave a Comment on Missing a Streak

I’m not sure when the word Streak became a term to describe how many consecutive days you’ve been on a particular app (in high school, “streaking” meant something completely different), but I’ve become pretty obsessed with my Streak on the Bible App.  Even though I don’t always use the Bible app for my quiet times, I log into it daily to look up certain scriptures or to follow along during sermons.  It’s a very useful app, and I enjoy logging in daily to keep my Streak growing; but sometimes I forget to log in for a couple of days if I’m reading a spiritual book (these days, I’m reading more than one at a time).  This happened to me recently, and I got so annoyed that I missed a day, which resulted in losing my streak of triple digits!  “Hmm, that was an interesting reaction,” I thought to myself.

I’ve been listening to a lot of podcasts about Enneagrams lately.  Enneagram is a personality typing system, which is based on patterns of the way people perceive their environment and manage their emotions.  One of the common topic in these podcasts are the Why’s behind our actions, thoughts and feelings.  So with this recent reaction to losing my Bible app streak, I asked myself why it annoyed me and why it was so important to me that I keep up my streak.  It didn’t take long for God to reveal my heart behind my annoyance:  I was fixated on the quantity instead of the quality.  I felt a sense of accomplishment whenever I saw my Streak number go up even if I didn’t remember the scriptures that I read on the app.  Ouch!  This was very convicting to me!

Having a triple-digit (or more) Streak is not a reflection of an authentic discipleship.  My husband never uses a Bible app because he likes to have a physical Bible in his hands, which means even if he had the Bible app on his phone, his Streak number would always be at “1 Day”; but he is honestly one of the most genuine and authentic disciple of Christ that I know.  It is very common to see him reading his Bible and a spiritual book.  He goes on a couple of prayer walks every day.  He’s not someone with tons of “free time” either: He works full-time for a very big corporation, is finishing up his MBA degree, AND we lead a small group in our church.  He doesn’t do these things to increase his Streak or to validate his worth; He does it because he loves God and has a genuine relationship with our Father in Heaven.  His motivation is not public recognition but rather a recognition of his need for God.

It is important to do heart-checks on a regular basis because our flesh-nature easily loses sight of our authenticity in Christ.  According to James 1:23-25, “Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it—not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it—they will be blessed in what they do.”  This ability to discern and examine ourselves will allow us to grow in our spiritual depth and authenticity in Christ… and in return, our souls will be refreshed.

“My child, don’t lose sight of common sense and discernment. Hang on to them, for they will refresh your soul.”
Proverbs 3:21-22a

Let us all strive to live lives of biblical and spiritual authenticity and not allow an app (or anything/anyone) to determine the progress of our journey with Christ. 🙏

With Gratitude,
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