day 16 to 21

I'm very behind.. here's major catch-up!

day 16
What is the fondest memory you have of your parents?
I think some of the fondest memories I have of my mom is her extravagant, overwhelming love. I told her one time that I loved Fruit Roll-Ups, and she went and bought this mega 100-pack at Sam's Club. At that point, and many times after, I had to tell her to scale back because I would start hating things I loved because I had too much of it. I was spoiled, and looking back I'm so thankful to have a mom who was willing to go to any end to see me happy. It's easier to understand God who works for the good of those who love Him when I think of my mom.

For my dad, I remember he used to go play ping pong with me on weekends or take me hiking. And though we didn't talk all that much, he enjoyed spending time with me, and I'm so thankful for those times.

You know, growing up, it wasn't perfect, but... when I finally started to admit that my parents' love wasn't all that bad or imperfect, I started to see the beauty of God's love, too. He has all that love that I received and so much more.

day 17
advice from parents that's been timelessly true
I don't know how many times this has been spoken out loud, but one thing I really appreciate is the way my parents demonstrated and taught integrity. I won't say my family was the most open family and there were things we hid from each other and other people (and this contributes to my rampant idealistic perfectionism), but I appreciate that I was expected to do the right thing whether people were watching or not.

Sometimes I go in the bathroom and use the last bit of toilet paper, and I know I could walk out and hinge the blame on someone else for not replacing the toilet paper roll, but I do make the effort to go downstairs and grab a new roll and put it in the bathroom before leaving. Perhaps no one will ever know or appreciate it, but my parents taught me that that doesn't matter. We're doing things for the glory of God, after all.

day 18
one superpower I wish I had, and why?
To never be tired. I hate being sleepy and falling asleep everywhere.. though if I never got tired, sleep wouldn't be as sweet as it is now. I used to have trouble falling asleep in high school, now I knock out within 3 seconds of getting on my bed.

day 19
one story about a best friend growing up
Growing up, I always had one friend (and this person changed pretty frequently) that I knew I was going to call after school ended to hang out with me. In 2nd grade, I knew this nice dude named David (he goes to college in Toronto now), and he was my "best friend." At one point, we used to hang out during recess time at this playground in a park near our school, and there was this one not-cool-slash-awkward kid who kept chasing us around. I got pretty annoyed because I thought I was too cool for him, so I incited David to write a hate letter to this other kid. So we both wrote our letters... and mine went something like "You are ddong [poop in Korean]. I hate you." I slipped it in his bag. Then he told his sister and the principal found out and we got in trouble. Then I lied to my mom about it. I bet she knew the truth though. And I think she sometimes reads this blog so maybe she'll make a comment about it our next phone call...

Sigh... who knew that children could be so evil?

day 20
what have you been learning during this fast?
Honestly, I don't spend that much time on Facebook. Maybe I should've fasted from Google Reader instead because that does take up a lot of my time. On the other hand, that is how I stay connected with the world and learn a bunch of new things.

Like Katie, I've been learning that some of you are awesome writers. I kid you not, I have LOLed reading blogs more this past couple weeks than I ever have. Please don't stop using God's gift to you!

Anyway, in the span of time we've had this fast though, I've learned a whole bunch about a whole lot of other things in life. Like how important it is to be thankful, and how you can't be proud if you're thankful. About the power of affirming words in me and in others. About how only the gospel truly changes people. About how much growing we have coming as men.

day 21
Bible passage that spoke to you the most this semester
This one's a toughie. There's been things that have spoken to me here and there at just the right time... and I'm starting to see how important it is to be continually digging into the Word and just being a tree planted by streams of water. It's not a chore so much as it is a necessity, because I know what it feels like to be starving for the Word.

Two that come to mind are from the beginning of the semester and last week:

"I say to myself, 'The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for him.'" (Lamentations 3:24)

"Lord, you have assigned me my portion and my cup; you have made my lot secure. The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; surely I have a delightful inheritance." (Psalm 16:5-6)

It reminds me that God is sovereign, that I'm where I'm supposed to be in life and I don't have to be anxious.

It reminds me that though I'm far from where people want me to be, God wants me to be here, now.

It reminds me that it is God who satisfies me, not my circumstances.

It reminds me that God is pleased with me because of Jesus' blood and because of His provisions, not because of my efforts.

It reminds me that God loves me just for who I am right now, and that He will provide an inheritance in the future.