Definitely not nerdy, you are probably cool

So I took the nerd test that Joel took. Haha. The results... *drumroll*




Oh well, the fact that I took the test probably disproves the results.

Oh my gosh. Thank God it's Friday! I made it through this week. And I'm feeling much better. Trying to take care of my voice. Heavy singing weekend coming up.

Oh yes, so my "totally wiping out" story... So we were in the cities last weekend. And after having dessert at Zeno's we were in the parking lot, about to leave. While Sam was in the bathroom, we took Christine's keys out of his pocket to trick him. So Erica asks: "Sam, don't you have Christine's keys?". Pam forgets that we're playing Sam, and she blurts "No he doesn't..." and then catches herself.

Of course, I wasn't going to let that slide, so I proceed to kick snow at Pam. Except, when I try to kick the snow, I inadvertently wipe out. Think those cartoon shows where people skid on a banana peel? Yeah, that was me. So one moment I was standing, the next I was horizontal on the parking lot! Thank God there was snow to cushion my fall. I then proceeded to make snow angels... and said: I meant to do that.

Ahh. Famous last words. :)

TGIF!

60 Seconds with Josh

Hello again. Welcome to another edition of 60 seconds with Josh. Yes, Josh has about 1/2 an hour before he has to run again. So this will be a quick update. First of all, yes, I am sick. But God heals... so pray for me! On Monday, I felt kind of sick... and my throat was totally crappy. And I had to lead Mustard Seed. But God, in his infinite grace, proved himself strong on my behalf. The verse his strength is perfect in your weakness really came to life for me. Anyway. This won't be a preachy blog. Because I don't have time to organize thoughts... suffice to say, that God showed up. And in power. We had a moment of stillness before God. And that led to an outpouring of joy. People were DANCING before God! How awesome is that? (For FGA people, that's nothing new... but here in the middle of the midwest..hmm..).

Macaroni Grill

Anyway, quick update time. Last Friday, went to Macaroni Grill in Burnsville. Had an awesome time with Erica, Sam, Steph and Emily. This was what we did on the table.. yeah, they have paper and crayons... for ADD people like me! :)

This is what I had. Yummmmmm...

This is what we did... Emily trying to defy gravity.

Steph trying...

And finally Sam. The conclusion? White people have long tongues. Erica and I, representative of the Asian population, were unable to touch our noses with our tongues... ahhaa

But more than the wackiness and awesome food... it was the company that made the dinner such an enjoyable and memorable one. Steph, Emily, Sam, me, Erica.

Substance

So the trip to Burnsville wasn't enough. Saturday. We went up to the cities to visit Christine (a senior who graduated last year) at her church - a new church called "Substance Church". It's a small, but growing church. Had a good time.

After church we went uptown... to Zeno's! Yum. I splurged. Had an Italian grinder panini, creme brulee and... cafe baileys (shhh... don't ask! :) This is the crew: me, Erica, Emily, Pam, Sam and Christine.

My yummy creme brulee... mmmm...

Sam (with his "normal" face) and Christine..

yeohjo and muileung

em and pam...  

Lifebytes

So that's about it. Just a couple more things.
- I'm leading worship at Rejoice! this Sunday. Please pray for me!! :) I'm really excited though.
- This Saturday, Exit 69 concert.
- I need my voice and health back!!
- Lots of finals projects and papers coming up. Phew.
- Going to Nashville, TN to visit with Pastor Charles and family!!!
- PARIS!!!!
- EMAIL ME!!! Love you all.

Make like time and fly

So many things have happened this past week. And I'm behind so many deadlines. But it's all good! I thought I should take a half hour or so and journal how amazing this past week or so has been to give glory to God and to keep YOU informed! Because I know you're DYING to find out what's up with Josh, right? (Yeah, that's why I get SO many emails from home... NOT!!)

Midwinter Ball

Midwinter ball was the weekend before last. Saturday of midterm break, Great Hall, Sayles and Sevy Tea Room are transformed into dance spaces with live bands including the Roseville Big Band... which is just heavenly!

Anyway, this year, midwinter ball was even more special than it already is because of the honor of taking a very special girl to the dance. So this was how the night unfolded:

7:00pm
David (big guy, football team captain, can pick me up like I'm a sack of potatoes... a very small sack of potatoes, strongest man on campus who could probably squash me to a pulp with his pinky) and I went to pick up our dates - Laura and Erica (respectively, of course) - who have been getting ready since 5:00! Girls. And of course, they're late coming downstairs. So there we are, me with a gerbera in hand... waiting... and waiting... watching some TV in the lounge... waiting... and finally they come down. And it's all worth the wait. Because she looks gorgeous!

We drove to El Tequila's (Mexican food) for dinner and had a great time. Great conversations. Great company. Great double date! :) When we were done, it was still early so we decided to go to Blue Mondays for coffee. Or chai in my case. It was just a great time spent with two awesome people and a super-awesome girl. Here are some snapshots from the coffee place...

Goofy boy and girl...

Then it was on to the ball where we would dance all night.. but not before doing the celebrity snapshots. Red carpet. That kind of thing. With everyone decked out in their finest (and at Carleton, it's a rare thing)... I couldn't miss this Kodak opportunity. So here's us with Chieko and Tyler...

... and with Erica's best galpal from home, Andrea and her boy Jeff...

... me and some awesome FISHie women (L-R) Pam, me, Emily and Chrissie...

... with Amenah, Rashika and Edaeni...

So we danced all night. We cha-chaed and fox-trotted and waltzed and rhumba-ed till my toes were going to fall off... and then the clock struck twelve. And I turned into a pumpkin. Haha. No... we didn't stay till 1 when it ended, because I had to get up early to play in church the next day. But that was midwinter ball.

When dinner is lunch and supper is dinner

Flo and Laurie invited us to their house for dinner. Which is really lunch. Once again, we were immensely blessed by their generosity and hospitality. They went all out to give us a fantabulous meal... look at the ham! uuuummmm.... *drool*

Flo and Laurie live in a beautiful log cabin... and they have big fat goldfish. This is me and Angie. I was explaining how cute goldfish poop is because it just sticks out and strings about...

Bowling for... Carleton

Then there was bowling. Yeah, midterm break MAH! Most of Mustard Seed (except some bad people who didn't show up) went to Jesse James Lanes for an intense game of bowling. Yeah. You know... musicians. :) This is Emily my workout buddy (we're both in Cote Fitness) bowling... she said she needed bumpers... but she bowled well. Strikes even!

Stephy Dodge!

Micah and me

Feel the love... David, Pam, Steph, Patty, Micah, SooMie and me

Tong tong chiang

Then there were Chinese New Year festivities. Thank God for the chance to have steamboat. Man, i miss being home so much! Especially since I didn't get ANY cards this year! Except Fran's e-card. Even that... hmmph. hhehe. Anyway. Look at the food. Yum!

We had all the angmohs over for CNY dinner because all the Chinese PPK. :) And there was another dinner on Friday but I couldn't go because of ICCA... more on that later. But this is Steph and Cheryl. And yes, we, Tyler and me, taught them to use chopsticks. And they ate cuttlefish too! Then ... tom yam! mmmm...

International Championship of Collegiate A cappella

Then this weekend, I went down to Decatur, Illinois to participate in the ICCA with Exit 69. It was a big first step for us. Anxious at first. Much prayer. God came through. As always. He's faithful. Had a great time! And no one was drunk. Ha!! :) This is me and Sophia.

And this is Exit 69 at Millikin University, Decatur, IL. We didn't advance... but oh well. Stiff competition!

House bonding

When I came home, my housemates clapped their hands. I felt so loved! hehe. Anyway, at 11pm I decided we should make a BIG SNOW FISH in the yard since the snow was big, fat and wet and sticky. This is me and Chrissie making Nemo... I mean Jonah. We named the fish Jonah.

Steph making a big snowball... avalanche!!!!

Tada!! Meet Jonah. Our big snow fish. Unfortunately... today it was really warm. So now Jonah is a pile of leaves. Let's just call it abstract art.

V-Day

Then there was Valentine's day. I won't go into details because this is a public forum. Although I do go into details very often... don't I? Okay. it's late. But suffice to say it was one of the best days ever! Thanks, Erica. You ARE the most awesome girlfriend a guy could ask for. So this is us and erica's roommate, Jessie and her boy Paul at Paul's apartment... where Jessie and Erica slaved the afternoon away to prepare a yummy V-day dinner for us.

And of course, the boys had to reciprocate... to thank the girls. Someone say SPA FOOT MASSAGE!

And then the best part of the night... Mustard Seed. Where Erica and I got to worship the One that we both loved more than each other... JESUS. It was a powerful time of worship focusing on ... what else? LOVE! Laura and Erica in deep contemplative conversation.. haha!

Steph, me and Soom...

Sam... being Sam :)

And my awesome group of friends and brothers and sisters in Christ... Mustard Seed! YEAH. That's it for now... hope you enjoyed the pictures! Write to me... love you all. 

Gong Xi Fa Cai!

So it's Chinese New Year. And this is the second time I will NOT be celebrating it at home. And this year I won't even get to celebrate it over the weekend like how I did last year because I am going to go to Decatur, Illinois. Decatur! Of all places. For an a cappella competition. ICCA. That's exciting. But aiyah.

Gong xi fa cai anyway. Think of me when you sink your teeth into the jiu hu char. Or the gu bak koay teow. Or the kiam chai ark th'ng or the tu tor th'ng. Or the yummy new year cookies. :(

Psalm 1

BLESSED (HAPPY, fortunate, prosperous, and enviable) is the man who walks and lives not in the counsel of the ungodly [following their advice, their plans and purposes], nor stands [submissive and inactive] in the path where sinners walk, nor sits down [to relax and rest]where the scornful [and the mockers] gather.

I remember analyzing this passage with my cell group back home once upon a time. Re-reading this in the Amplified, I was struck again by how easily it is to walk down the road to destruction.

Blessed is the man who walks (and lives) not in the counsel of the ungodly...

Mr. Godly meets Mr. Ungodly and starts walking with him... chatting about the events of the day... nothing harmful right? They're just walking together...
It always starts with walking with someone. Can two people walk together without agreeing on the direction? (Amos 3:3) Too often I see people who give up God's "best" and settle for "good". Tommy Tenney says that "good" is often the worst enemy of "best". How true. At this age, and I'm sure for the years ahead, my peers will be embarking on new relationships - some sooner than others.

But the fear or being alone is a very real one. And this is what makes people cop out and settle for the present, and not place their hope and trust in what God has in store for them. Too many people settle for what is there and don't pursue what God has in store for them. How can a believer and an unbeliever walk together, be yoked together - if one is headed towards destruction, and the other towards Christ? How can one walk in disobedience towards Christ and yet say he loves Him?

nor stands [submissive and inactive] in the path where sinners walk

... then they stop for a while. Hang around. They're just chillin'. Mr. Godly sees things that Mr. Ungodly is doing, but doesn't call him on it. No, don't mess with the status quo. Close one eye. Turn the other way. Everyone else is doing it.
Standing submissively. Inactively. In the face of sinners. How often do we as Christians feel embarassed to speak up against sin? To expose sin for the dirty despicable thing that it is? Political correctness has infiltrated the word of God. People are hesitant to declare truth because they are afraid of offending people. But the Word of God has been offending the sinful long before we were born. The pharisees didn't like Jesus. Neither did the Sadduccees. And all the other ees. For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. (1 Cor 1:18).

nor sits down [to relax and rest] where the scornful [and the mockers] gather

.. Finally they are "friends". Mr. Ungodly invites Mr. Godly into his home. Just to have dinner. Fellowship together. Nothing wrong, right? Wrong.
I'm waiting for God to tell me otherwise. I feel like I'm being called to bring person X to Christ. I'm praying about it. About my non-believer girlfriend / boyfriend. Waiting for God to tell me otherwise??? Praying about it??? What??? How much clearer do you need to hear from God than from the very Word that proceeds from the mouth of God? Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness? 2 Cor. 6:14.

His grace is sufficient for you. His strength is made perfect in your weakness. If you are reading this and this has struck a chord in your heart. Then you know what to do.

Soy Bean Milk

This is momentous enough that it warrants a mini-blog.

Today, I made my very first batch of soy bean milk. Ever. In my life! It was an amazing experience! I needed a strainer, but not having one (or cheese cloth, whatever that is), I was forced to be resourceful. Felt like MacGyver!

So I got a face towel and used that as my sieve. It was a messy ordeal - all that blended soy beans. Then, had to heat up the milk. And there was a strong smell. I remembered reading somewhere that if you throw in some orange peel it takes away the smell. So I had a clementine. And threw in the peel. And it worked!

Anyway. Tomorrow I'll drink my first cup. Oh yeah, I also used maple syrup! haha. Because it said I needed palm sugar. And I don't know what that is. And no one here knows what it is. So I'm assuming you can't get it here. So... maple syrup! haha. But it tastes so good.

Anyway. Not very milestone-ish? It is! My mom would be proud.