As they pass through the Valley of Baca, they make it a place of springs; the autumn rains also cover it with pools. They go from strength to strength, till each appears before God in Zion. Psalm 84:6-7 他 們 經 過 流 淚 谷 , 叫 這 谷 變 為 泉 源 之 地 ; 並 有 秋 雨 之 福 蓋 滿 了 全 谷 。 他 們 行 走 , 力 上 加 力 , 各 人 到 錫 安 朝 見   神 。

Thursday, July 27, 2006

Forever

Words and Music by Marty Sampson

VERSE:
D
I'll worship at Your throne
D/F#
Whisper my own love song
G
With all my heart I sing
Bm A
For You my Dad and King

D
I'll live for all my days
D/F#
To put a smile on Your face
G
And when we finally meet
Bm A
It'll be for eternity

BRIDGE:
G D/F# A
And oh how wide You open up Your arms
G
When I need Your love
D/F# A
And how far You would come
G
If ever I was lost
A
And You said that all You feel for me
G
Is undying love
Bm A/C# D
That You showed me through the cross

CHORUS:
D
I'll worship You my God
D/F#
I'll worship You my God
G Bm A
I love You, I love You
D
Forever I will sing
D/F# G Bm A D D/F# G A
Forever I will be with You, be with You

�2000 Marty Sampson (Hillsong)

Tuesday, July 18, 2006

Lobster Buffet

I want to go to Khoury's seafood buffet this Sat!

Location: Long Beach
Price: $40
Menu: Maine lobster, crab legs, prime rib, and more...

PS: need to make reservations.

Thursday, July 13, 2006

Something to share...

Thanks to Iridium Fox for sharing this:

人的一生到底有多少東西是因為害怕而被捨棄了
因為恐懼, 因為怕, 我們不知不覺錯過了多少

有人因為怕髒, 不吃路邊攤
有人怕高, 不玩雲霄飛車
很多人因為怕改變, 不作任何改變

現代人對於愛情的不信任與恐懼
拒絕, 質疑, 放棄, 寧可不對自己誠實

有很多時候我們因為怕痛怕辛苦, 就寧可捨棄
而且我們常常告訴自己放棄也沒有關係
就說沒有也許比較好

也許因為我們都越來越怕
所以我們得到都越來越少

也許等到有一天驚醒
才看到有這一天

Congrats to Rita and David!

THEY ARE ENGAGED!!!

Congratulations, Rita. I haven't know you for very long but it feels like I've known you longer than these few months. A woman that feared God and obeyed, blessed is her.

And blessed is the man who wins her. ^^

Congratulations again to Rita and David. So have you selected your big date yet? Name of your first baby? Will I get egg tarts?

... sorry, getting way ahead in the questioning dept... hehe.

Wednesday, July 12, 2006

Ringing thoughts...

4 This is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says to all those I carried into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: 5 "Build houses and settle down; plant gardens and eat what they produce. 6 Marry and have sons and daughters; find wives for your sons and give your daughters in marriage, so that they too may have sons and daughters. Increase in number there; do not decrease. 7 Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the LORD for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper." 8 Yes, this is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says: "Do not let the prophets and diviners among you deceive you. Do not listen to the dreams you encourage them to have. 9 They are prophesying lies to you in my name. I have not sent them," declares the LORD.

10 This is what the LORD says: "When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will come to you and fulfill my gracious promise to bring you back to this place. 11 For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. 12 Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you

Jeremiah 29: 4-12

Have I thought about settling down? Yes...

Do I want to be prosperous? Yes...

Do I want to bear fruit? Yes...

1 Blessed is the man
who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked
or stand in the way of sinners
or sit in the seat of mockers.

2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD,
and on his law he meditates day and night.

3 He is like a tree planted by streams of water,
which yields its fruit in season
and whose leaf does not wither.
Whatever he does prospers.

Psalm 1: 1-3

Saturday, July 08, 2006

Happy Birthday, Wenko: Flaming Lamborghini

Happy birthday, Wenko. May God increase His blessings for you as you step into another year of His faithfulness and possibly for you to tie the knot pretty soon (we're all praying). This picture was taken at Bernie's group in Irvine: Joseph and Jamie's house. Good bye, Bernie. Have a good trip back to Taiwan and don't forget us. Come back soon, ok? Just to clarify, the kids in the photo belong to the house owners. You can tell right? They looked so different than Wenko... hahaha.

After the farewell party for Bernie. Wenko, Tao and Sydney came to my place to continue with a little celebration of our own...
Here's me, Wenko, Sydney, and Tao with the Hello Kitty Shots... gotta start light and work our way in.

Of course, we have to let the birthday boy try the famous Flaming Lamborghini after a fair amount of alcohol (actually, just B-52, Tequila Sunrise and Peanut butter Jelly shots).Looking a bit concerned now, are we, Wenko?
Lighting it up now... the flash of the camera was too bright and didn't capture the blue flames. But you can see it fogging up inside the glass.
Pour... and drink quickly.
Pour... another shot... drink quickly
Pour... yet another shot... and gotta finish
I guess that look tells me that you liked it. Actually, he was saying: "wow, this is good..."

And now it's Tao's turn:
Ignite, pour, drink...
Ready for the next shot?
Last shot...
Ya, you liked it too? Hahaha.

And finally, my turn...



Yup, I liked it too.

Videos for Solvang and Santa Barbara



Sunday, July 02, 2006

Day Trip with YAF in Solvang and Santa Barbara

Today (Saturday 07-01-06) was an awesome day... Despite the very early departure (well... supposedly, we met early, but didn't take off until after 9am) and the long drive (over 3 hours) to Solvang, we enjoyed the scenary on the road, chatted about misc. topics, played trivial (Taiwanese style) games with walkie talkies, and took tons of pictures.

The purpose of the trip was to bid farewell to our good friend and brother, Bernie... since it might be the last time we can have outside activities with him before he moves back to Taiwan. It also turned out that today is Amy's 23rd birthday. So we also celebrated that. At the very least, this trip needed to be memorable for both Bernie and Amy. It turned out to be memorable for all of us.
For those of you who couldn't join us: Sorry that we missed you. And I'm sure that you've missed us too... ^^


We went out to sea to fish, and caught a Bernie
The very Danish like town of Solvang. European tour in the US. We really looked like tourists... everyone was contantly taking pictures and Wenko was filming on behalf of Amy. I guess we can expect a documentary on DVD soon, right?

This is everybody (minus Bernie, since he was very busy at the time... on the phone maybe with a hot chick... ai...) at China Pavilion in Santa Barbara.

Wenko, me, Amy, and Tao during dinner. This is before the surprise birthday cake for Amy. Wenko told everyone that we were gonna go get some alcohol... and I was reprimended... hahaha.

Ok, the chronological story begins:
Our first business of the day was of course: food. This is the seafood omelette at the Mustard Seed Restaurant in Solvang: a Danish style town founded by two people according to our guide: Tao.



Here's Bernie and Amy. Our celebrity for a day today.
I like the patterns that the roof makes. This style is very common here.

Famous for it's bakeries...

Marian found a good resting spot under the tree. We did a lot of walking.
Hahaha... so cute
We went for ice cream after this... I think all of us were too busy with the ice cream and we didn't take any photos... hahaha.Ok, on the road. Next destination: Lumpoc
... actually, the real destination was for the flowers that blooms so beautifully on the side of the road to Lumpoc. We did get to Lumpoc and used the rest rooms... hahaha. Our next destination is the state beaches in Santa Barbara.
The beauties in our midst...
And the always gentle gents... maybe except for Wenko (hahaha) who started all the beach games of dodge frisbee and dodge ball (what's up with all the dodging anyway?). It was LOADS of fun!

We had so much fun that we forgot time... we were tired, thirsty and hungry. So naturally, our next activity would involve some eating and drinking.
Oops, I wasn't referring to this type of drinking... brahahahaha... this is actually one of my favorite type of white wines: Gewurztraminer.

The China Pavillion... Recommended by Ruth as her boss' parents owns this and 8 other high end Chinese restaurants in or near Santa Barbara.

Sydney, Ruth, and Allen.
"Cheers"

So what's after dinner? Going back home? Not so fast, not before we surprise the birthday girl with a cake and un-extinguishable candles (thanks to Wenko).

"Happy birthday, Amy" as she makes her birthday wishes.
And that concludes the day in Solvang and Santa Barbara. Thank you, everyone for this awesome and memorable road trip. Farewell, Bernie. And welcome, Amy.
The beauties in our midst, II.