After Next Conference

I am dead tired so I'm just going to post up like 3 pictures and just call it a day. I'll post up notes, videos, and pictures tomorrow.

I bought these three books at the conference:
1) Just Do Something (A Liberating Approach to Finding God's Will) by Kevin DeYoung
2) Humility by C. J Mahaney
3) Sex is not the problem (Lust Is) by Joshua Harris

Above is a bunch of books I'm reading. I have 30 more books on my reading list. I actually finished "The Shack" by WM Paul Young recently. I would recommend this book but I would read it with caution. The author has a huge bias against the institutional church and organized religion, but since the content of the book was amazing, I overlooked that.

I also met a band named "Reilly" at Next Conference. I got to meet two of the members and got my album autographed =) I highly recommend their songs. There's none of that lovey dovey wishy washiness you might see in other christian artist's songs where you can't tell whether it's a love song or a worship God song. Another amazing thing about "Reilly" is that their music has an amzing blend of classical music and rock. The two band members I met, Noelle and Dan (married to each other), are the violin duos on the band. They were really happy to hear I go to school in California. I promised to email them if an opportunity to come to UC Berkeley to give a concert at our church comes up. I'll have to talk to Eunice about that.


http://reillytheband.com

I also got this funny sticker from Next Conference:

Love,
Lily

Conference: Day 2

First of all, I just want to tell you guys that I'm so blessed to have sisters like you. Your comments on my last post really really made me happy =)

Second of all, I'm being challenged and pulled left and right by the messages from the conference (and the sessions). Today Kevin DeYoung and D.A Carson came to speak to us (yesterday Joshua Harris spoke of Christ's Pre-Eminence) about Christ's Life and Incarnation. I learned things I never knew before, and it has made me realize how small I have made my God to be. How easy and manageable I have made Jesus out to be in my mind. Kevin DeYoung's message was like a siren in my ears (Do you really know Jesus? If you have never felt fear or ever felt discomforted by Jesus like the way the disciples felt when Jesus only spoke ONLY three words to a STORM "Quiet! Be Still! (Mark 4:35-41) and the storm OBEYED immediately...you do not truly know him). Jesus commands nature, demons, sickness/disease, and death (Storm, "Legion," the bleeding woman, and Jairus's little girl). Through Jesus....all things were created. The fullness of God dwells in Him. Jesus is God and Lord over all. I don't think I have truly, deeply understood the gravity of this.

D.A Carson's message was also like a needle that penetrated my shrouded view of God. God does not need you and me. YOU need God. God did not create the earth and people so that they can whip out their guitars and sing praises to Him. God is so much from himself, he doesn't need anyone or anything. It was out of goodness that God created us. When John wrote God so loved the world...John wasn't talking about the dimensions of the world and relating it to how big God's love is. God's love is awesome not because the world was so big but because the world was so bad.

**This is just a very tiny synoposis of what I learned. I will post up notes and pictures and videos hopefully the day after tomorrow. The conference ends Tuesday and I've been there basically from 9:00 a.m till 11:30 p.m. (More than 14 hours of just worshipping and praising God. It's been wonderful).

As a side note, I got to shake Josh Harris's hand. I was so speechless to see him just kind of pop out of nowhere and say "Hi," that all I could do was just shake his hand back and just kind of like nod my head in acknowledgement. I was standing next to someone who was Josh Harris's kid's home-school teacher and he saw her and went up to say "Hi" and then saw me and was probably like "Hey, new kid" and just said "Hi" as well. Yeah, even now I'm still a little shocked, and I kind of wished I got to say a little bit more. Man, now I'm thinking what it'll be like to meet Jesus Christ face to face....I think I'll just drop dead or something...okay maybe not drop "dead" cuz I was saved and all but most likely fall to my knees with my head bowed to the floor and never get up.

Anyways, I'm excited about tomorrow. C. J Mahaney and Sinclair Ferguson will be talking during the sessions. Can you believe Convenant Life Church gets speakers like Jerry Bridges and John Piper to come speak on Sundays? I'm excited.

Love,
Lily

P.S Like I promised, I'm taking good notes for you guys! And cool videos too!

Life in MD

What's Happening (Currently in Baltimore, Maryland)

• Tomorrow is the NEXT 2009 conference (Starts at 7:30 p.m tomorrow) So Excited! Can't wait! My mom and I will be driving up to the Baltimore Convention Center. Here's the schedule for tomorrow night:

7:45 pm - 10:15 pm -- Christ's Preeminence: Joshua Harris
10:30 pm - 11:30 pm -- Community Groups

• Here's a picture my mom took of my brother and I before he left for China today (I told him to buy a "I Love China" shirt for Angel and I! *If you want one too, tell me!)
  

• That's all for now! I'll definitely post pictures from the conference tomorrow!

Love,
Lily

Loving the Unlovable

This bible verse really stuck out to me today:

Matthew 5:46 "If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your brothers, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect."

I couldn't help but take a very critical look at myself. I came to this conclusion: I seem to love people only when they love me back. I love this verse so much because it motivates me to fight my natural tendency to distance myself from people I don't get along with or people I don't really like.

But like the verse stated: "What are you doing more than others?" When I'm loving certain sisters, my parents, and my leaders but distancing myself from people who seem "unlikeable" or people with strange personalities (kind of funny considering how strange I am), or coarse people with rough tongues, or selfish, whiny brats who only seem to care about themselves, or the awkward, or the people who love to point out other people's flaws or talk about others behind people's backs, or people who are always suspicious of other people's motives*, etc. how can I call myself "Christian" (Little Christ**) when I'm not doing anything more than what non-Christians do?

*All of these bad characteristics actually describe me. When others display these characteristics and therefore are like me (similar in flaws), I naturally want to put as far a distance as possible between them and me.

But this verse really opens my eyes and it encourages me to step outside my "zone" to reach out and to care for people who I normally don't like to associate myself with. The funny thing is the people who I normally don't like to associate myself with are the people I relate with the most because I am a sinner with many, many, many bad points. Honestly, I see a little bit of myself in everyone's flaws.

As I become more spiritually mature, I hope I never lose the awareness that I am a total, complete sinner but God loves me anyway. Because I have experienced this wonderful love that I do not deserve but God has shown me anyway, I want to show the same compassion to other sinners who don't know Christ or know Christ but is wavering in their faith.

I don't want to become like a Pharisee who says "I thank God I am not like this tax collector..." Or else I'll never be able to relate with other people! Oh how puffed up I would be! Instead, I pray I will have the tax collector's mindset: "Have mercy on me, for I am a sinner." I want to be someone who has ZERO illusion of his/her own merit, so I can truly experience God's wonderful grace, mercy, and unconditional love for me.

Love,
Lily

** C.S Lewis's description of Christians: "Every Christian is to become a little Christ. The whole purpose of becoming a Christian is simply nothing else." (Mere Christianity) - This touches on the last part of the verse "Be perfect, therefore, as your Heavenly Father is perfect." We got to imitate Christ :)

Yea-uhhh Volleyball Spring 2009

We are so cool...AHHHH jk =)

Fun Fun Fun

Meet Ditto, the puffball who can squash and stretch and transform into anything!....



Yes I was bored and decided to make this. (P.S I'm whistling to "Forever and Ever" by David Crowder) Practice for 3-D animation- start with 2-D.

-Lily

An inspiration

After talking with Sofia today, I was really inspired by the story of her Aunt's struggles. Even though life had thrown all kinds of curve-balls at her, even though the devil within her husband tormented her daily, she picked herself back up and said, "Praise the Lord." She is now an eighty year old woman, still full of spirit and energy, and still full of joy. Praise the Lord indeed. I wish I could understand that joy- so powerful it can allow someone to stand up even if every part of one's body is hurting or every bone in one's body is cracking, and say with utter joy, "Praise the Lord." What kind of joy is she experiencing? Throughout my life, I think I've only felt a glimpse or a sliver of that joy. Though believe me, when I felt that little sliver of joy, it was always a momentous experience for me; I thought "surely indeed, this must be that 'joy' of salvation, of knowing God's existence and His word, of His amazing grace and mercy that would save a weak and unworthy creature like me." But now it seems I haven't quite grasped it yet; that feeling or conviction that all the apostles seem to know so well. I'm now left with a great feeling of anticipation. If the joy I had felt in the past was just a mere glimpse of "true joy," then I'm excited to seek out more of God. He seems not only willing but eager to bring all of us closer and closer to realizing what that "true joy" really means.

Love,
Lily