Chicken Run

A combination of comics, pics, quotes, and musings. Welcome to Michelle's blog and feel free to explore =)

[teriyakiifan]

I took quite a number of pictures at Lands End Lookout, but strangely enough, this one always sticks out to me the most. I’d like to say I was being artistic, but the out-of-focus was completely accidental. I actually wanted to capture the steps. Yet isn’t this so reflective of life? Our path always feel so uncertain, and if we’re solely preoccupied by it, we’d be incredibly disappointed by how the picture is turning out. But once we realize that joy lies in the journey, we might see the beauty of it all. 

[cslewisquotes]

[The Future] is the most completely temporal part of time – for the Past is frozen and no longer flows, and the Present is all lit up with eternal rays… Hence nearly all vices are rooted in the Future. Gratitude looks to the Past and love to the Present; fear, avarice, lust and ambition look ahead.

The Screwtape Letters (1942)

[walking-on-oceans]

For the Present is the point at which time touches eternity.

C.S. Lewis (via walking-on-oceans)

[teriyakiifan]

New Zealand Landscapes Timelapse Volume Two

[teriyakiifan]

Mysteries of Tomorrow

I'd be lying if I didn't admit that the mystery of tomorrow scares me more often than excites me. I've never been one for surprises... except in those rare instances where my reality so far exceeds all dreams and expectations. Those moments truly are the most special.

I get the sense that people grow weary of reassuring me to not worry... to not be anxious about the rising and setting of the sun, marking another day gone by. (But I'm so glad when they don't grow weary because it's always such a most needed reminder).

I imagine if my life was laid out all before me... somewhat like a time lapse video of all the events that will come... I will realize how beautiful it all is. How beautiful it all will be (if only I have the courage to step out in faith). The video is absolutely stunning, but my favorite part is always the stars. Not simply the way they shine brightly in the night sky but the way they dance across it. I forget sometimes that the Earth does, indeed, turn and rotate to give us day and night. You can never see it (but it's there). I imagine He is very much like that as well. Oh how wondrous His plans must be.

[teriyakiifan]

[teriyakiifan]

I look at how vast the natural world is at times-- the oceans so blue and plains so vast, the lush valleys and mountains covered in blankets of snow-- and I’m so taken aback by it all. It’s truly... incredible. But then I think of how God is so much bigger than this all. And then I think of how His love is so much bigger than this too, and it just takes my breath away.

We look at how the world loves, and some ways, people are doing it right. It’s so often in the little things, isn’t it? The sweet gestures, the genuine smiles, the moments that pass by so quickly (you might miss them in a blink of an eye). But thinking of God's love, it's so different. Not to say that His love isn't in the little moments. Truly, our lives are scattered with his grace & mercies each day. But His greatest act of love was so big, so grand, so beyond our comprehension. Without looking at God and His love, I think we’ll often fail to realize how short-sighted & how small-scaled our lives and love are. The world is filled with billions of people. So many lives being lived. So many lives also approaching the precipice of death (and eternity, thereafter). There is so much beyond the walls of our homes, the boundaries of our cities and states and countries.

But then, it's humbling to be brought back to reality... to the very finite moment in time where you are in this finite moment of space. And you realize that your life will always be rather small in comparison to the enormity of it all. Yet, I think it's our capacity to see the larger picture that allows us to be faithful in the little, everyday moments. What would the world look like if we did not live for our own glory but for the one to come? If we loved richly & extravagantly in only a way He could show us? 

[teriyakiifan]

Age of Adaline

What if you could never age? What if seasons came and went... and stars were born & died in a flurry of gas and dust... without any consequence?

Life is so full of ironies, isn't it? Only by losing your life can you gain it. Only through death can you have life. I just finished watching Age of Adaline, which was really intriguing conceptually. The script and execution left much to be desired, but in essence, it was about a woman who lost the ability to age. So she spends all of her life running away... from people and love and life... so that she can continue living. Only she's not truly living.

Even in a Hollywood movie, it's apparent how necessary death is to have life... how you must be willing to lose the things that you love in order to love them in the best way you can. Life truly is so temporary... how are we living it?

[teriyakiifan]

I love how music is so inextricably connected to memory. And even when the memories fade, somehow, the impression remains.

Suddenly feeling nostalgic...  being brought back to simpler times of a clumsy girl & her hopelessly sentimental heart.  

[teriyakiifan]

Dreams

It's past midnight, and I should be in bed. But I find myself awake, thinking, dreaming, wondering... I think about my life, about the lives of others, about "what if's" and "if only's"...

I dream of stars and lights and adventures.

I wonder what heaven will be like. To be in the very presence of God. How wonderful that must be.

I dream of true friendship-- of souls knit together in Christ. Friendship that grows, loves, selflessly endures, and centers on the work of Christ. Friendship that smiles, laughs, and cries... in a good way.

I hope I can find a career that allows me to help others in a very real and rewarding way, that surrounds me with amazing people, that interests me and challenges me while not draining me too much either, that provides for me and my family well, and that really allows me to glorify God and make Him big.

I dream of meeting someone who can truly understand me and help me understand myself. Who teaches me to love others and God more than I could on my own and brings out the very best, kindest, funniest, most selfless part of me. Who is bold, who loves the Lord, and who teaches me to live in the moment without regret.

I pray that I can make an eternal difference in the lives of others. Not simply showing random acts of kindness, but that I can be a constant, faithful, and loving friend who consistently points others back to Christ. A friend who does not give up but who waits patiently for you when you drift astray. A friend who you can talk to when times are difficult and life seems cruel. A friend who challenges you-- for your good-- so you may know and love Christ more.

I hope that I won't waste my life. And that when I meet God, He will say, "Well-done, good and faithful servant." I hope you don't waste your life either.

I wonder. I dream. I hope. I pray. I am.

Praise God for that.

[teriyakiifan]

Death and Hope

I've been thinking of death as of late. In light of the recent international tragedies that have taken so many lives, I guess it seems fitting to reflect on it now. But more personally, I just found out that my old lab partner passed away from a year long battle with brain cancer.

It's strange...I still remember his sense of humor, the way he'd ride to lab on his skateboard, and his nervousness about the future, as he realized that he didn't really like biology and was working a consulting job part-time. It was two years ago, but I still vividly remember walking towards the student center one day. We just had a lab report due, and it’d be quite the understatement to say we were pretty delusional from the lack of sleep, which amounted to 2 hours for me and 0 for him. But as we were planning our naps for the day, we talked about how we just couldn't wait for the day to end, and then he said somewhat jokingly, “I feel like we spend so much of our lives waiting for things to end.” The end of the day, the end of the week, the end of the school year.... he was totally right.

P. Jim said something one Sunday that really stuck with me. "The reality that we're living now means that we're living on borrowed time." I never thought about it in that way, but it's so true... We will all meet on our Maker soon, some earlier than others. Life really is... short. Do we really live that way?

But what a great encouragement and hope that we have in Christ, who conquered death for us! 

"O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting? For sin is the sting that results in death, and the law gives sin its power. But thank God! He gives us victory over sin and death through our Lord Jesus Christ." - 1 Corinthians 15:55-58

 We never really talked about it, but I hope he's with the Lord today.

[koreaddicted]

[teriyakiifan]

<3 Kim Yuna! Dedicated fan since 2007. Hoping she brings back the gold this year :)

[photojojo]

[teriyakiifan]

Welcome, 2014

Looking back, I can't seem to remember much of the details of the past year. It's more like a bright streak across the sky... a mark left behind from experiences too impressionable to forget yet too difficult to remember clearly. Perhaps my memory is slowly failing. Perhaps I'm losing the ability to see life through a lens of awe and wonder. Or perhaps I've simply lived the past year with too many worries, regrets, and tears and not enough faith, hope, and courage.

2013 was the year I graduated from college, found unlikely friendships at work and church, got a new car, moved back home temporarily, left LBCSD and Crucell, relocated to Berkeley, and started a new program. I made a trip to Yellow stone along the way, watched my first epic A's game, and visited the city in the beauty of the night. However, it was also a year of difficult transitions, serious re-evaluations of life, and lonely moments that I'd much rather forget. Memory doesn't quite work that way unfortunately though...

Despite my typical reservation of the passing of time, I'm excited for what 2014 has to come. It will surely be a year of tough decisions, uncertainty, and change. I'm sure I'll make plenty of mistakes, trip, and fall. But I hope that I'll remember to pick myself up.

I'm excited for new friends and old, moments that'll take my breath away, boring days that'll remind me to be thankful of the mundane, and experiences that'll continue to shape my life and perspective. I'm excited for what I will learn, all the ways I'll grow, and for opportunities to love and serve. But even more so...

Courage. Faith. Love. Hope. Trust. Perseverence. This is what I long for this coming year. I don't want this year to be for naught, so as I look towards Christ, I'm ready to take my first steps forward.

2014... here I come.

[teriyakiifan]

Goodbye San Diego

Too many goodbyes, see-you-later's, and farewell hugs...

I didn't realize that leaving this time around would feel so bittersweet.  But then again, San Diego has been my home for four years (and I wouldn't have had it any other way). The streets have become familiar, the weather has become a warm welcome, and the people have become my friends. 

I can't help but feel sometimes that I'm leaving before I was able to really live, make memories, and appreciate everything and everyone here, but I know that in many ways, I already have. Memory fails, but I know that God has blessed me beyond what I deserve, and God-willing, I'm excited for the opportunity to do it all over again elsewhere.

I will really miss San Diego though. I will miss Lighthouse, the fellowship over food, sports, school, music, and ministry, the gorgeous weather and beaches, and the familiar sites and smells. But most of all, I'll miss the people. Four years or four months, I've realized it doesn't take very long to encourage and be encouraged by knowing someone. My only regret is that I didn't love people or invest in them as I should, but I'm thankful that they allowed me to try (and forgave me for my shortcomings). I hope that I will see many of you again, but for those that I won't, I'm thankful for our time together nonetheless. Thank you for loving me in the little things and the big things as well.

So when parting with a dear friend, if I can remember, I try to leave them with a "goodbye," not because every "bye" is a good one, but in cases such as these, I must remember that there is good in the goodbyes =) 

[teriyakiifan]

Favorite Things

#8: Staying Up Until You're Delusional and Tired With People You Love

I'm quite sure it's horrible for your sleep cycle, but I do terribly enjoy staying up with people I love. Even as our comfy beds beckon us to sleep and our eye lids become heavy and our words become slurred, there is something so wonderful about the company of others in the early hours of the morning. Conversation is intimate, their presence is comforting, and it's those moments that I often realize how incredibly blessed I am. I really don't deserve it, which makes the act of grace that much sweeter.

[black-wolves]

[teriyakiifan]

Hehe... hello bear =)