Thursday, December 31, 2015

It's That Time of The Year Again...

When we all reminisce on the past calendar year and think about new goals for the following one. So here goes nothing!

Quick story that I've probably already told in an older post:

Every year, I always have New Year's Eve service at church with my parents. I've been doing the same thing for the past 21 years. We always have short service at church, do the countdown, and wish everyone blessings for the new year. But for the past 4 years, we've started a new tradition. We pick a random bible verse from a box filled with random scripture.

Now, I know what you're thinking (maybe?). "Isn't that kind of non-Christian -- to put your upcoming year's fate into drawing a random verse? Isn't that like... blasphemous sort of?" And yeah, I can understand how this may seem a bit strange. But I think it depends on the mindset that you have.

See, I don't go in thinking that the verse I receive is a prophesy from God that I must fulfill as my destiny. I see it as just another verse to mediate upon for the coming year. In my opinion, it's about the motive and intention you have as you're going through the process.
"Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight." -Proverbs 3:5-6
I think overall, I can say that I've learned this: you can't sustain yourself in this life because life is too unpredictable. But if you put Christ at the center of all you do, amazing things will happen in His time. But it's definitely not easy.

There were moments throughout the year where I thought I was trusting in God, but I actually wasn't. And there were moments where I refused to trust in God and relied on myself. All of these moments ended poorly. But I think I've learned my lesson! And He's rewarded me in ways I couldn't have imagined.

He's made my paths more straight. But it seems like there's a fork in the road. Each path is clear -- in which I give thanks. However, I now wait for a door to open. I wonder which door will open in 2016.

Brian || Taylor || Hnou || Xing || Judy || Esther || Josh || Jenine

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Wednesday, December 23, 2015

Read Read Read

I hate reading. Well, I used to hate it. Ever since I was a kid, my parents made me do those summer reading list things. And the selection of novels were terrible. I hated every book I picked up. To me, the stories were never interesting. I don't remember exactly what made them unappealing. Of course, there were a few exceptions. I thoroughly enjoyed A Series of Unfortunate Events. And you can maybe include some school assigned readings such as Huckleberry Finn, Lord of the Flies, and To Kill a Mockingbird. But I just thought that books, in general, were stupid and useless.
"Well -- young Justin --  I will finally admit that I enjoy reading. So go read and be cultured. Stop wasting time doing nothing."
I'm trying to read a lot before I start my internship at EY. It'll be the "busy season" which means working overtime every week. Which means less leisure time. Which means less reading time. Which means -- you get the point.

I just finished reading The Blind Side by Michael Lewis. It's a solid book. And I am now more educated about the history of football -- YEAH SPORTS. And now, I've moved onto The Artisan Soul by Erwin Raphael McManus. Shoutout to Joe Hur for the reference.

I just started the book, and it has already addressed so many thoughts I had in my head. If you remember my last post, I talked about being stuck in two worlds. I want to be creative. But being an accountant isn't the most creative profession out there. This book makes a unique statement about creativity and art.

I, like many of us, think that there are two types of people. (1) There are the "creative thinkers", and (2) there are the "unoriginal workers". For example, we all know that person who is really artsy. They just know how to make something more beautiful -- music, drawings, pictures, etc. Then there's us: #basic. The artists are those who make GREAT things while we make, at best, GOOD things.
By the way, I think we can all agree that there's this scale that great > good. "Great work" is better than "good work". Weird thing huh.
Since we'll never be able to do something original or great, we should just forget about being creative and go do something practical. That's the common belief we all have and the thing we're taught from society -- if you can't be GREAT, then forget about it.

But McManus thinks otherwise. Let's bring it back to Genesis 1. When God created each thing, He saw that it was GOOD. It doesn't say GREAT, it says GOOD. And when God created us in His image, He saw that it was VERY GOOD -- still not GREAT. So why do we think that our work must be GREAT in order to be acceptable? God's work was good because He is good.
"Great is about execution and achievement; good is about essence and ethos" - Erwin Raphael McManus
We tend to focus on GREAT rather than GOOD because we want acknowledgement. We want fame, status, recognition. But what does God do? He focused on what is GOOD. He focuses on the essence of who He is and the essence of what is inherent in his work. Shouldn't we do the same? If we are created in His image, then we are to imitate Him -- who is Christ. You don't have to do great things to be an artist. It's about your intention and the purpose you put behind your work. You don't need recognition from others. You just need recognition from Him.

I'm going to stretch this a bit farther and make this argument. Why strive to achieve something great when the greatest thing has already been given to us? We have everything in Christ. We are seated in the highest position possible -- next to the right hand of God in Christ. So let's focus on creating the essence of who made us in His image -- goodness.

Brian || Taylor || Hnou || Xing || Judy || Esther || Josh || Jenine
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Tuesday, December 8, 2015

Stuck Between Two Worlds

I'm stuck between two worlds. And I don't know exactly where I belong. Of course, I'm stuck in a world that I'm not necessarily a part of. Because we know that we're IN this world, but not OF it. But this isn't the dilemma I'm talking about.

Let me explain . I'm a business major. But I'm also passionate about being creative through writing, photography, film, etc. And I can't quite fit into either group completely.

For example, I'm not the brightest business student. Sure, I can do accounting. It's pretty simple if you put the effort into learning it. But I'm not necessarily a "business" person. I'm not obsessed with the stock market. I don't really keep up with business news 24/7 like other students. I don't live and breathe business.

On the other hand, I'm not the most creative person. Hence, that's why I'm a business major. I think I know how to appreciate creativity. But I lack originality. I always wonder how artists think of ideas. It takes me forever to think of something. And when I do, it's probably not that original. Therefore, I'm an average "creative-ist" (if that's even a word).

So I'm stuck between two worlds: business and art. And I like to believe that I'm a bit above average in both. But I'm not excellent in either. I see how dull businesses are and the potential of how great they can be if it can embrace creativity. And I see how much creative people need structure and logical order to work more effectively.

I wonder if He will create a space for me to fit in. I'm stuck between two worlds.

Brian || Taylor || Hnou || Xing || Judy || Esther || Josh || Jenine
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