Dinner with a friend

I love having one of my dearest friends in town who doesn't work for the department! Tonight Allison and I went out for dinner since we've not been able to catch up all week. She was working the whole weekend and normally I see her at church on Sundays to catch up but not this week. Anyways I took her to this Thai place not too far from her house called Tuk-tuk. The food was really good and not too spicy.

And no we didn't plan to wear pink sweaters tonight, that was totally accidental!

Heaven help me from well meaning people

So this Sunday a lady at church pulled me over to the side and said "I want to introduce you to someone". I thought she meant a visitor to the church, but that is not the case! This lady wants to set me up with someone.

What I don't get is why do people think something is wrong with me just because I am single? I am content and happy being single. IF God wants to bring a man in my life then He will do it in His time. So thank you for your offers but please....let God do His work.

You never know who's watching

Last night I took some friends out to San Francisco since they've never been out West before. It was pretty fun! I took them up to the Twin Peaks which has this great view of the whole city and part of the other town. Then we rode the cable car up and around the hills of San Francisco. I found out where the ZARA store is located but they didn't have the perfume I liked there. So we rode the cable car back to the 'crookedest road' and then hopped off to take a walk down that road. My brother took some crazy pictures of him trying to do this break dance move on the crooked road. Then I took them to Ghiradelli square so that they could purchase chocolates for their family back hom. I found out that Bill & Jess have never eaten at a Bubba Gumps before and since there was one at Pier 39 we went there for dinner. Being belivers praying before a meal is pretty typical and nothing out of the ordinary for us. Dinner was great with good food and great conversations. My brother told stories of his Society's jokes and pranks, while Bill & Jess shared their stories from the 'good old days' at BJU. What was interesting was what happened near the end of our dinner. This lady comes up to our table and says "I just wanted to tell you that I noticed you guys saying Grace earlier and it just made an impression on me. You guys are Christians right? Well you saying a prayer before your meal just made an impression on me and I just wanted to let you know." We were a bit stunned and didn't know what to say other than Thank you and God Bless you.

What amazes me is how a simple act that is so common to us can make such a impact on someone unknowingly watching us! So you never know who is watching you and your testimony even though you do such mundane, common things. Guess we really are a Light in this world whether we think so or not.

Weddings

My friend, Anne, got married today. I was one of the bridesmaid and it was a nice, typical American wedding. I say typical because it was less than 30 minutes long and so far the American weddings I've been to are like that short, sweet to the point. You march down the aisle, light the unity candle, say the vows, the minister says a few words (or a sermon) in the midst of all these are special number(s) and then boom it's done. The minister pronounces you as husband and wife, walk back down the aisle and out the door. What I did notice today was that the pictures took longer than I thought it would. Anne hired a professional photographer and I can't wait to see how her pictures turned out. The bridesmaids were all in the same shade of red but different styles and the groomsmen were rather dapper in their suits. But as usual the show stealer were the ring bearer and flower girl. =) The ring bearer was Anne's nephew and he just skipped down the aisle while the flower girl meticulously dropped a flower carefuly as she walked slowly down the aisle. It was a nice and lovely ceremony and the bride and groom were very much in love. Then it was over and the reception was held at our church. I sat at the kids table, (mind you not on purpose!) where basically the flower girl and one of the guest daughter sat down to where I was and the ring bearer occasionally came over. He had too much energy to sit still. When they did the boquet toss, the bride purposefully threw it to me but I deflected it and sent to a younger child whose brother caught the garter. Yeah I wasn't ready to be the next one to get married and as one of the bride's friends whom I also know pointed out...I travel around too much to stand still long enough for a man to catch me. =) Now that was a nice thought (even though I don't belive it myself that that is the reason why I'm still single) for her to try to ease the extremely annoying thought of "WHY AM I STILL SINGLE?" that has been trying to get me to go down into the depression spiral. But the wedding was lovely, the reception was casual and fun with plenty of leftovers and Anne is now Mrs. Christopher Dorband.

Of course if this was an Asian wedding it would've been much longer! An Asian wedding is usually about an hour to two hours long (depending if you are Catholic and have a Mass) due to all the ceremonial things and the march of the sponsors alone takes at least 20 minutes. The principal sponsors could be godparents, counselors, a favorite uncle and aunt, even a parent. Secondary sponsors handle special parts of the ceremony, such as the candle, cord and veil ceremonies. Candle sponsors light two candles, which the bride and groom use to light a single candle to symbolize the joining of the two families and to invoke the light of Christ in their married life. Veil sponsors place a white veil over the bride’s head and the groom’s shoulders, a symbol of two people clothed as one. Cord sponsors drape the yugal (a decorative silk cord) in a figure-eight shape–to symbolize everlasting fidelity–over the shoulders of the bride and groom. Then there is the sermon or speech given by the officiating person, saying the vows, exchanging rings and in between all these are a few songs and "special numbers". So needless to say it is a large and long ordeal, but the reception after is worth the wait! Because there is a ton of food at the reception, you can have everything from roasted pig, lumpias to this elaborate wedding cake. And then there is the dancing to do, part of the ceremonial dance at the reception, some couples incorporate a ‘money dance’ where guests pin peso (or dollar!) bills on either the bride or groom in return for a chance to dance with them. Also at the end newlyweds release a pair of white doves during the reception to signify a peaceful and harmonious marital relationship.

New Year's Tradition

Every year my family and now our church sets goals for the upcoming year instead of resolutions. It is a five part goals and then we do a Verse to claim for the new year. Here is the format with some examples.

I. My relationship to God-COMMITMENT
1. Make a list of blessings
2. Memorize verses
3. Have devotional time everyday

II. My relationship to my family-CONFIDENCE
1.Take kids out to the library
2. Invite teenage daughter for a special breakfast
3. Do family game night once a month

III. My relationship to my self-COURAGE
1. Develop a daily exercise plan
2. Try a new hair style
3. Treat myself to a manicure

IV. My relationship in homemaking-CONCERNS
1. Make floral arrangement or centerpiece table
2. Clean out linen closet and rearrange according to size
3. Paint the dining room

V. My relationship to others-COMPASSION
1. Write notes of appreciation to two people
2. Take food for needy friend
3. Send the missionary a care package

Verse to claim for the year.

The great thing about this is when you look over your list on Dec. 31st and see if you've accomplished your goals there is that feeling of accomplishment. What I also find amazing is the verse that you claim at the beginning of the year is woven throughout the whole year in such unexpected and unique ways that allows you to truly see God's hand at work.

I hope this list will inspire you to set goals for the upcoming year!