Zephaniah 3:17

Tonight at phcf girl's group we did a little study/reflection on Zeph 3:17 -- one of my favorite verses.

The LORD your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing.

Song to verse here: very twangy, catchy =) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1-dniFr5HWo Keke one of the girls sends this song as a baptismal gift! Cute.

Some thoughts:
God is love. And he demonstrates his love (for a people who turns away from, who rejects him again and again) in many ways.
- He is our God. possessive. continual relationship.
- He is WITH us, present in our midst. What a gift, that he never leaves us or forsakes us.
- He is continually working protection over us, promising salvation, no doubt/uncertainty about it.
- He rejoices over us, an abundance of joy, and not out of duty but out of gladness!
- He quiets us by his love, giving peace and rest and security and identity. We don't have to scurry and work and worry. He is worthy of trust.
- He exults over us with singing. Reminds me of the troubadours of yore, writing sonnets to their lady-loves, expounding on beauty of face or form or character. But this is even better because it is God, who knows us inside and out, even better than we know ourselves -- all the good and all the bad -- and yet still exults!! over us! Utter bewilderment at this love that pursues the least worthy, that instills worthiness by function of being chosen, not by internal merit.

Praise be to Him who loves and thus teaches us to love -- to love him back, and to love others as well. Such joy to be reminded of solid truth in his Word, especially on a cold night that feels a tad lonely at the apt with a boatload of work to do before the morrow.

moar snow

it's almost the end of february.
snow's coming down again.

my olive oil turned solid. o.o

what's going on?!

perk: now i can eat my chinese new year leftovers without compunction! snack all day to stay warm, huzzah! so far, small portions of: dumplings, lo mien, you tiao, pajeon, egg rolls, nian gao. (also, just learned that nian gao means "year cake" ... AND "sticky cake" -- how clever! keke)

also, wearing ann's bday-gag-gift tiger hat. and pjs. and mommy's random-sale-find fuzzy boots. haha no need for fashion sense when the only ppl to see me are my roommates and hobbes!

---
yesterday, phcf did a lunch seminar with dr p, an old-timer prof who's been around jhsph forever, it seems like! told us the history of public health (esp international public health, since that's the dept he's in) as related to medical missions and christ-followers whose life mission was to love and serve the poor and underserved all around the globe. amazing stories of people who really did leave everything for the sake of Christ. working with grace and humility. and so cool to see how all these people's stories intertwine. relationships matter oh so much. and ultimately, beautifully, how all these stories (hopefully mine too), all this history, is tied up into His Story.

"A season for the broken heart: a reflection for Lent"

http://www.diomass.org/reflections/season-broken-heart-lenten-message-bishop-gates
thoughtful post. resonates, convicts.

// And also, it's LNY! Haha surprise surprise, my parents are coming over for dinner tonight. I'd thought that I would wait til this term is over in a month to go home... and they're coming to me! And bringing gifts (food and company). Huzzah!

hehe

Today, I met someone who actually uses 

in real life.

Ah this city, how I love you!

Though if it were warmer right now I totally wouldn't mind. Brrrrrrrr

Peanuts

Love is walking hand in hand, Charles Schulz

[second hand books]

http://www.brainpickings.org/2012/03/30/love-is-walking-hand-in-hand-schulz-peanuts/

Old books are beautiful.

nerd alert

Some links for me to find again later since I lose things pretty quickly in email...

• Bible typography (thanks Pastor J for posting on fb -- ah beautiful books, thoughtful lettering, deliberate verse/paragraph placements. lovely Word.)
• Fungus in maple syrup (WOW God is so cool!! such fun organisms! a good complement to my food-and-water-borne disease class)
• NYTimes 36 questions (good for developing intimacy)
• Reminder of his perfect love (thank you Ann Vonskamp)
• Marriage book by Francis and Lisa Chan (sg bookshare)
• Do Chua recipe (my favorite part of bahn mi)

People I'm thankful for

[in transit]

- K, the affable white-haired homeless gentleman who always greets me when I'm walking to church

- J, former bus-driver turned hospital greeter whose intense and intentional care for each person he meets always surprises me (who actually listens for an answer to "how are you?" nowadays? so different, so refreshing)

- T, new bus driver! hehe she's taught me a lot about bus design and driving techniques

[at home]

- parents who care but don't hover (ha! surprising, given previous track record. beyond expectations. though maneuvering parent-child relationship in this growing-up process is still kinda odd. many intersecting roles to play, as relate to homelife and worklife and schoollife and interference/nudging in siblinglife)

- siblings who communicate and share about life, both the deep aching hurting learning growing leaning-in parts and the fun oh-did-you-see-this isn't-this-awesome parts

- roommates who I'm very very slowly getting to know. this idea of living in the same apt but with closed doors is so utterly strange. need a lot more intentionality to grow in closeness.
[Side note: I still prefer what I got used to at home: open doors, everyone in everyone else's faces/space, noise, interaction. You had to work really hard to be alone... developed well-honed focusing skills to filter out hustle-and-bustle-of-other-ppl. Is this normal?? The I don't want to bother you (or I want my privacy) mentality? Is this what typically happens in living situations? in families? This is kinda like what J was like with his parents and I was always so (confused? annoyed? discomfited?) about how separate ppl's lives could be though living in the same space. Perhaps this is more common than I had thought, and I shouldn't have been so frustrated about a household/family style different from my own.]

[in fellowship]

- JHIF folks: hospitality, just wow! such care for students and scholars and workers around the Hopkins med/grad campus, esp those whose homes are far far away. and a deep love for the Word.

- GCB downtown: love. importance of gospel, grace through faith. intentionality of touch. sharing. worship. symbolism of movement and gestures. openness.

- GCB gc: generosity. excitement. REALLY wide range of experiences and backgrounds and coming-to-know-Jesus stories and life trajectories. diversity of ages and ethnicities and voices.

- phcf: ah what a wonder it is to be in an all-girl group! sharing of joy and life and sorrow and guy-troubles and laughter and and food. keke and introducing me to bethel live (jamming out and dancing in my room to this)

[short-list elsewhere]
- A, whose friendship I cherish a whole lot esp after not being in touch through college. glad for a day to traipse through DC together, exploring his work-office and eating delicious munchies and talking about all things under the sun. hehe and for being able to sit in silence and do work without being awkward.

- C, who was willing to do "spiritual bootcamp" with me... accountability and encouragement and mutual wonderment at the awesomeness of God. plus, tidbits of life back in Hton. keke Day 33 aujourd'hui! comme c'est merveilleux!! 

- galfriends who email and gchat and ghangout and call... despite being many hrs and miles apart!