The Corny Post: Mace

So Mace came to visit me in Northfield last weekend. She did such a great job blogging about it that I'm just going to point everyone in that direction for details. After all, women are much better with detail than men, right? I will, however, show you bee-you-tee-ful pictures and give you brief updates on ma vie � Northfield.

The cities

So on Saturday, Erica and I went up to the cities to meet Mace. We were late. No, the Light Rail made us late. :) But anyway, we got her car, and made our way to the Sculpture Garden at the Walker Art Institute. And took lots of pictures. Mace went bezerk when she saw a flock of geese flying overhead. It was funny.

I'm trying my hand at modern art. Guess not huh?

We then went to Zeno's for dessert and coffee, where I contracted rabies.

And then we went to the lake... so now Mace has seen 1 of 10,000. 9,999 to go.

Mace and Erica's photo shoot. For Nokia. Or Motorola. Whatever.

Later that evening, we went to get some delicious sushi. And met up with Ai Li. For like 45 minutes. It was intense. The sushi I mean. Ai Li was ok. Haha. I'm kidding.

Then Mace and I hit the bars... lol. Not quite, we went to a jazz club called the Artist Quarter. There was a CD release party - and the quartet playing was amazing! Pin would have loved it. :)

Welcome to Northfield

The next day Mace and I drove down to Northfield. She was taken by the fluffy trees. Fluffy? Trees? :) Went to Rejoice! and in the afternoon we went out biking. So I used to remember Mace as this really sporty girl right? And so when we went biking, I turn around and she's GONE! Haha. This was the approximate distance between the two of us. That's me taking a picture of her! :)

So we biked out to the wind turbine.

Went to the upper arb. "Yo mah peepz!"

Lower arb photo session! Lol

Yup. I have a tree growing out of my head.

And biked around campus too. This is Goodsell Observatory.

We also visited the Japanese Garden. Sigh. Mace's camera is really cool!

I wonder...

Two childhood friends. All grown up. *tear*

See. She looks like she's up to the task, but really, she just got on the bike after having pushed it all the way uphill! Lol

Mace joined us for Mustard SEed and then we did a Perkins run and played silly games till 1:30 am! What fun!

So it was truly a blessing to have Mace come visit. I love it when my worlds collide. Who's coming to visit me next ??? :) Here are a couple more quick updates before I go.

• Lots of work due the next week or so. So prayer please :)
• Leading worship at Rejoice on Sunday! Prayer again! :)
• Got the newest Ross Parsley CD - i Love the first song!!
• Fall is really pretty
• Tonight is set up your room mate. I am butter looking for popcorn! My favorite pair was "Paris Hilton" looking for "self respect" hahaha.

I leave you with a beautiful fall shot. Love you all!  

Cop Out Post. Temporary Measure.

Ok. Here's the deal. Mace came to visit over the weekend. And we had a BLAST. And I have tons and tons of pictures. Don't ask. :) BUT. I am kind of busy right now... so this will have to pull you over to the weekend when I can sit down and write a blog entry worthy of a great friend!

Here it is. The link to Mace's blog! hahaha.

Things I'm thankful for: Halfway there!

It seems so surreal that I am already at the halfway point in my fall term as a junior. Only five and a half more terms till I graduate! Wow. Time seems so short here. Teach me God to redeem the time that I have here and to make every moment count. To number my days so that I would gain a heart of wisdom.

And there is just so much to be thankful for. Take this week for instance...

Things I am thankful for...

• Freshmen Fondue Fridays today. It was amazing. We had 9 people AND something like 4 parents (because it's parents weekend here at Carleton), many of whom have never been to FFF before. It was refreshing to hear about people's stories, and lives, and meeting their parents... because really, watching a kid interact with his or her parents gives you a whole lot of insight into the kid's life. And we had SWISS FONDUE. It was amazing to say the least. :) And of course, my two very awesome co-leaders. :)
  
• Exit 69's first performance today as part of the a cappella fest for parents weekend. It was exciting to see this new group gel and raise the level for their very first performance. And the group dynamics are so different now. People who encourage one another, for one. I think we did pretty well for our first performance. There are issues... there are always issues. But I'm thankful for this vineyard that God has given me.
  
• Connecting with people. Freshmen, upperclassmen. I had the privilege of making and having dinner with a freshman from Exit this week. Not often you hear an upperclassman saying that right? But it was a privilege because I am realizing more and more that every person is more than just what you see. Every person has all these years of memories, stories, history that make a person unique. So often we don't really take the time to get to know people. And if the only thing you can take with you other than your relationship with God is the impact you make on other people's lives, then this is something we really should be doing.
  
• God appointments. Meeting a prospective student who is so on fire for God. And praying for her brother who is not a believer. And hearing that prospie's story of how she came to Christ. How amazing. How humbling. How powerful.
  
• God appointments. Meeting an alum who stirred up possibilities in terms of what to do after Carleton. Having doors opened in this area. Meeting with Laura to research psych internships and grad school stuff.
  
• Getting work done. It feels so good to be done with my midterms. And psych lab reports. And just the way God worked out everything so that everything worked out.
  
• This hasn't technically happened yet, but going up to the cities tomorrow with Erica. And meeting Mace at the airport! And spending a great weekend chilling with KUM from home! :) It will be sweeeeet.
  

What an amazing first of the term it has been. God never ceases to amaze. He leads me by still waters and his rod and staff comfort me every single day! One thing I've been learning is to learn to depend on God for everything. When you start out each day focused on God, it's almost like, hey all these trappings of earth, they are nothing compared to the bigness that is our God.

So, I guess it would be an understatement to say that I'm excited for the next half of the term to unfold. I am praying for fruit. I am praying for more doors to be opened. For more people that God will use me to impact. For more revelation of His character. For more songs to be written. For a deepening of relationships with the people in my life. For world peace. Hehehe. Just kidding. Although that would be awesome too.

Highlights and a song

Some highlights from the past week:

• Having more time to myself, for others, and most importantly for God. It's been amazing how things are in the right perspective when God is in the center of your life.
  
• Speaking at the Chapel Service. Spoke on the 2 things you can take with you when you leave this earth: your relationship with God and the impact you've made on others, and related it to the theme "Works in Progress".
  
• It was fun to meet the Christian alumni too. Spoke with Nancy, the alum speaker at the service, and I think it was one of those God-appointed moments. She's a professional psychologist... a doctor! :) I feel my future coming into focus a little bit more.
  
• Connecting with cool people everywhere - in Exit 69, in the christian community, outside of Carleton.
  
• Going to the Greenvale Elementary School. I help out at a third grade class. It is a lot of fun. Today one boy had the hiccups... I couldn't stop smiling. It was the cutest thing. I told him holding his breath might help... and he did. I had to keep an eye on him to make sure he didn't kill himself. :)
  

I also wrote a song that I'd like to share with you. It's called Is Anyone Out There?.
I see it in your eyes
The pain you keep inside
From all the times you’ve been abused, rejected, hurt and scorned
I hear it in your voice
The fear that once was joy
Because of all the broken words and words that have broken you
I see you reaching out
Then pulling back in doubt
And I can hear you whispering so silently
Crying out so tenderly

Is anyone out there?
Anyone who can mend this broken heart and make it whole
Is anyone out there?
Anyone who can tell me I don’t have to face this on my own
Is anyone out there?

I feel it in your touch
How it’s hurting you so much
How you cannot seem to find a way to leave the past behind
I know you are afraid
Of what was and what’s been said
And in spite of all you do the answers keep eluding you
I see you reaching out
Through all the fear and doubt
And I can hear you whispering so silently
Crying out so tenderly

Is anyone out there?
Anyone who can catch these teardrops every time they fall
Is anyone out there?
Anyone who can be with me and hold me through it all
Is anyone out there?

You see me reaching out
Through all my fear and doubt
And I can hear You whispering so silently
Crying for me tenderly

I’ll be with you out there
I’ll be the one to mend your broken heart and make it whole again
I’ll be with you out there
I’ll be the one to tell you you don’t have to face this all alone
I’ll be with you out there
And every time you cry I’ll catch the teardrops from your eyes
I’ll be with you out there
Until the end of time I’ll be with you and call you mine
I’ll be with you out there

© 2005 Joshua Yeoh

The one where Josh plays catch-up

So most of you are probably wondering if I had already fallen off the face of the earth. I am happy to report that 1. gravity is still working, 2. the earth is still round, and it would thus be impossible for me to fall off it and 3. I am finally updating my blog! *cheers* So we'll start with a quick continuation of part of the Yeohs' trip to the US.

Minnesota: The Land of 10, 000 lakes

Welcome to Minnesota. We spent a relaxing week up in Breezy Point: the middle of the middle of nowhere. But it was exactly the relaxing break that I needed before the craziness of Carleton began. Here are some highlights... we climbed up a historic fire tower...

Mom had to leave her mark of course.

And Dad didn't make it all the way to the top. You should ask him about it. *grin*

We spent lazy days in the lake...

...admiring the beauty of Minnesota, and the work of God's hands...

...feasting at yummy restaurants...

... boating...

... goofy Josh ...

... the day out on the lake was amazing!

... we caught some good fish out on the lake, but most of our fish was caught like this...

... and like this ...

... and while I didn't catch the most number of fish, I did catch the biggest one ...

... which Dad and Mom whipped up into a yummy dinner!

Then it was back to Northfield. And Carleton. My parents stayed through the first week of school, helped me unpack, cooked stuff and froze them for me, met all my friends, "stole my thunder" as Erica likes to say, and got to be a part of my world here at Carleton, if for a while. That meant a lot to me. And I know that that would be one of the things that I will remember for years to come. Plus, everyone thought I had the coolest, youngest-looking, "hip" parents. :) But then again, that's just to be expected right? After all, come on, look at ME. he he he. So, thanks Mom and Dad for a GREAT holiday. I enjoyed every moment of it, and it was such a blessing to be able to spend so much quality time with the both of you. The only thing that could have made our time better was if Caleb had been there too. But oh well, ... Graduation! :)  

Since then...

Now, for some updates. Since my parents left, a lot has gone on. It feels like it's been forever, but it really only has been two weeks. Here's a quick update of what's been going on in Josh's life... interview-style.

Upper Consciousness: So, Josh tell us what's going on with you academically?
Josh: Josh is taking Psychology of Language (which rocks, but is a TON of work), Educational Psychology (where he gets to spend 3 hours a week with third graders... and he taught them about Malaysia, how to say "apa khabar" and what a tsunami was) and yes, rumors are true... wo xuexi Hanyu! Josh is studying Chinese. When he comes home to Penang though, he will be speaking with a Beijing accent! :)

UC: Why are you speaking in the third person?
Josh: Well, I don't usually. But I started typing that way, and then decided to do it interview style, and was too lazy to go back and change the pronouns. Plus, Josh thinks only cool people talk in the third person. Josh knows.

UC: Er, whatever. So what else has been new with you? Give us some highlights.
Josh: Wow. So many cool things are happening. First there is Freshmen Fondue Fridays which opened with a bang! We had a whole bunch of freshmen join us. It was exciting. Then there is Exit 69 which is going extremely well this year. I really believe pigs flew the day I said "I am loving Exit 69!". But yup, I guess pigs do fly, because the group really is so different now. I also led worship at Rejoice!, my home church in Northfield. And Pat Shelby is back, leading worship, recovered from brain aneurysm! What a miracle, how awesome is our God?!

UC: So I totally said a fewhighlights. Obviously, "Josh" has some problems being concise.
Josh: Ok whatever. You are my upper consciousness, and I can shut you off whenever I want... I'm not listening to you anymore.

Lower consciousness: You forgot about me though! Ha. I'll continue the interview, UC. How about your living situation?
Josh: MAN! What a blessing. I got drawn into a townhouse by Aki. So I'm rooming with Leslie, who is originally from Ghana but is now from Chicago. And he's an awesome man of God. We get along great... AND the townhouse is SUPER. It's an two-storey apartment... we have our own living room, kitchen, laundry facilities, and my room is huge... and my walk-in closet is ENORMOUS! What a blessing. And we take turns to cook too.. and both Aki and Leslie are wonderful cooks. Me? I just defrost what Mom and Dad froze for me.

LC: Anything NOT been going well?
Josh: Well, thanks for asking really. Because in fact, last week was kind of a "hell week" for me. My schedule is just a lot to handle at the moment. I have had to draw close to God like crazy... because I am not able to handle things. I have incredibly LONG days with very little time for lunch even! As a result, got a little bit sick... and you know how things are when you're not feeling well. But well... things will get better.I believe it, because God promises peace for those whose minds are stayed on Him. And I am believing that promise. I would love it if you would keep me in your prayers though!

LC: Wow, I'll remember to pray for you too. Even when you're not "conscious" of it. Ha ha. A little consciousness joke.
Josh: Are you REALLY my consciousness? You are freaking me out.

LC: Well this was fun. But don't you have to get up early for church tomorrow?
Josh: Yeah I do. I'm playing keys and singing. And tomorrow is going to be a long day... I have a whole bunch of things to do, including studying for an ORAL midterm - who knew there were such things? So stressful lah. And it's only week 3 - we're having midterms... what?

LC: It's really been great hearing about what's going on with you. I know people will be praying for you!
Josh: I know that too. Thanks so much guys. Now I really have to stop... because I'm actually conversing with myself right now, in my head. And I'm in psychology to help psychos... not become one. So... good night.

LC: Good night.
UC: GOOD NIGHT! God bless!