Stuff That Matters in Life

Katy’s Weblog

Thank you, E for lending me this book. I couldn’t put it down and thoroughly enjoyed it.

I liked everything about the book, the intrigue, the fictional dialogue mixed with historical information, learning something about Leonardo da Vinci, and it had a surprise ending, well, it was surprising to me at least. For once, I am going to tell you, don’t read the last page or you’ll spoil the whole story.

I don’t feel like giving a summary. Just read it, it won’t take you more than a couple of hours, it would be time well spent.

Someone asked me if I really love Hello Kitty.

I have a Hello Kitty cell phone cover, Hello Kitty wallet, Hello Kitty key chain, Hello Kitty card holder, Hello Kitty camera pouch, Hello Kitty pen, Hello Kitty tissue pack. And that’s just in my purse.

At home I have a collection of Hello Kitty plushies of various sizes. If I was not lazy I’d post a picture.

So do I really love Hello Kitty?

I love Hello Kitty because loving cute things allow me to relate to kids and young people. It makes me feel younger. Making cute crafts puts me in touch with the people that I love who also love crafts and cute things. It’s a connection point, a conversation starter. Some people talk about sports, or gardening, or food.

I talk Hello Kitty and crafts.

On Sunday I read to the children an incident in the life of Hudson Taylor.

As a way to build his spiritual muscles to depend on God before he went to China as a missionary, Taylor decided to ask God to remind his boss to pay him, rather than Taylor himself reminding his boss, who often was too busy to remember to pay him on time.

Read more of “Prayer and risk”

If I was Lazarus, I wouldn’t want Jesus to raise me from the dead.

It is unpleasant at best, and torturous in many circumstances, to die, but to have to die twice…please spare me.

And after Lazarus came back to life, he lived in fear because the authorities wanted to kill him. What kind of life would that be even if you had a second chance at it? And what if dying the second time was more painful than the first?

I am sure there were very good reasons for Jesus to raise Lazarus from the dead. The most obvious one was it brought glory to God. But giving Lazarus a better life was not one of them. I’m sure Lazarus would much rather be in heaven than to have to come back to earth, to be hunted down by Jesus’ enemies, and die again.

Lazarus was brought back to life to fulfill God’s purpose for him. It’s wasn’t for his sake, it was for God’s glory. This leads me to once again be reminded that fulfilling God’s purposes is what life is about. It’s not about me. It’s about God.

Control

Filed under Spiritual lifeby Joyful

I notice that when we have aches and pains, we have an expectation that it can be treated and cured.

We go to the doctor to get a diagnosis and expect the problem to be solved with meds or surgery or therapy or something. When no diagnosis is found – “we don’t know what is causing your pain”, we feel hopeless. It feels scary that we can’t grasp it and solve it.

That’s the way we approach life. We think all problems should be solved.

That’s the way we approach God. We expect him to solve problems. Whenever prayer requests are shared, it’s always a problem to be solved.

How about asking for prayer to endure instead of healing? How about praying for opportunities to do more good works instead of making it easy? How about asking for our character to be built, asking to know God more, or asking for our faults to be revealed so we can repent?

Genes

Filed under Thoughts on lifeby Joyful

My siblings and I refer to it as the “Choy gene.”

When we lack confidence, when we get complacent, when we feel nervous about upcoming events for no good reason, we say it’s the Choy gene, on my mom’s side.

This gene of pessimism and fear is something I have to consciously overcome. It’s a mental weakness that makes me feel like quitting and shy away from adventure. I can’t handle emergencies and hardship. I have to remind myself: I don’t want to be like that. I can be better. I am not ruled by my genes.

Widows

Filed under Spiritual lifeby Joyful

I’ve always wanted to adopt a child. My heart goes out to the children who would grow up without a real family. But for whatever reason, I never quite felt the calling to actually adopt. And I feel like I somehow missed out on something. I always tell people that if I were relive my life, I’d adopt, a cute little black boy with curly hair would be my choice.

Read more of “Widows”

I wish I can remember more clearly some of those precious times – going to Disneyland for the first time when I was about 8 or 9, my wedding day, my children’s first steps, closing my first real estate transaction.

But I’m glad that God did not give us a perfect memory.

I don’t remember my mother’s funeral. I don’t remember my car accident. I don’t remember the miscarriage of my first child. I try to bring up the pain, but I can’t.

It’s a good thing I don’t remember.

As for not being able to remember those good times – we should just go out and have a good time instead of reliving old ones.

Perhaps it’s mid-life crisis, perhaps it’s changing hormones, perhaps it’s watching and caring for my father journeying what is likely his final round in life.

I’ve been thinking that if I were to die, there isn’t anything that I am doing where I cannot be replaced. Yes, friends may miss me and my unique personality…

Read more of “Purpose”

My pastor says that both his mother and mother-in-law, in their late 80’s have said that having a long life is not such a blessing. Living alone and missing their deceased husbands, they are ready to meet the Lord.

Yet, with the availability of modern medicine, something so basic such as hydration with an IV can keep an elderly on earth longer than they want to.  I do not believe in euthanasia where you take an active part to end a life, but there comes a point when intrusion in the course of nature really is not  a compassionate act.

I wonder what I would want if I live into the 80’s. I am praying that I die in my sleep…morbid thought but you’d be lying if you say you’ve never had a similar thought.