finally free

#remember #thealamo (at The Alamo)

Thank God for miracles. If science ruled all, I would not be here at this moment in time. If science ruled all, I would not be able to have had the pleasure of coming this far in life. Starting from the beginning, I was born was heavy asthma and a holy in my heart, left atrium. I was nursed every day for my first three months of existence. Doctors recommended surgery to close the hole in my heart for it was leading me to exhaustion after three minutes of running. I would be put on different sorts of medication until I was the age of 6, when my body was considered strong enough to have surgery. Growing in a Catholic household, my mom constantly prayed and told all of her friends and my family to pray for my surgery. I always told my mom that everything would be okay, that they had nothing to worry about. The night before the surgery was to take place, something curious happened. The hole in my heart shrunk ten-fold. The doctors told my parents and I that I did not need the surgery and that I would never need it in the future. God performed a miracle on me and the next day at school, I brought a frame of Jesus, showing everyone who saved me that previous night. Remembering back to this story, I was given a gift, the gift of life to see how God can use me in this life. There is a reason why everyone is called in this life and I am always seeking that out.

Wow, thanks mom for the lovely mittens. 🤗😸💃💃💃 #mittens #prompic #christmas #christmaseve

First legal beer together! Happy belated birthday sis! #dandelion #lionfam #beer (at The Dandelion)

Went to the fountain of youth. #barharbor #maine (at Bar Harbor, Acadia National park)

Every other day I get a craving for Mama Bui's crab rangoons. Thanks for always specializing my order! Feeling the love. #cravings #eggrolllady #itsonly8am (at Eggroll Lady & Fish Shack)

First time at #innout . Got the double double and animal fries. Best way to describe it is that it's a better Big Mac, great value, 7/10. happy to celebrate the wedding of my great college friend in #SantaBarbara

It's a new day. #gotham #winter #Boston #snow

This is part of the story of Noah's Ark. In Genesis 7, Noah was called by God to go into the Ark and bring along all the animals in. He was 600 years old! Isn't that so old? This just goes to show that God is so gracious. No matter what age you are, it is never too late to serve the Lord. No matter what battles you are facing, God is there. His Word > all your worries, anxieties, struggles. It's amazing how Noah had a calling to obey God's commands 600 years into his life.

Thankful for a wonderful and delicious brunch with @kyusoklee #brunch #citygirlcafe #latergram (at City Girl Cafe Inman Square)

Hi Shirley! Only went to Philly for like 36 hours but very glad to see you before I left! Miss serving with you, @808slippers, @xuskii93, @raeh209 , and @markkimm PC: @dan_the_insta_man (at Meyerson Hall)

Today, I ate lunch alone. I miss this goofball who needs to eat his vegetables. Moving onto greater things . Thanks to the great community at #Olympus

Hebrews 12:10-1110 They disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, in order that we may share in his holiness. 11 No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it. Man, it's so hard to be spiritually disciplined! I had a hard enough time being disciplined in studies and working out. (still struggle with these things haha, especially working out). But what's the reason for this discipline? Why did I study? Why do I try to work out? It's because I'm running towards a goal. There's a motivation that keeps me going, whether it's to graduate well or get a girl (hehe). Today's reading was describing running the race for God. The race for God is not a sprint that lasts sub 15 seconds but something that is a lifelong marathon. It needs so much training and heart to go forth. A marathon is something a normal person would not be excited about diving into. (unless you're one of THOSE people). I feel that going into a marathon, I'd give up past maybe the 5 mile mark. What's special about the marathon for God is that if you stop or want to give up, you don't need to restart. You have a community, friends, and family to push us and help us step-by-step. More importantly, Jesus becomes the light that guides us to the prize. The Holy Spirit gives us strength to endure many obstacles that lie ahead in the future. As we run along this marathon, we get better equipped for the race. We learn more, we are steadier, we have a great acceleration. With this, the Devil recognizes the warrior, and throws boulders and wants you to turn around. We get tired, we suffer a lot and we ask ourselves, is this really worth it? From this passage, we see that God disciplines us for our good. We are his children and he wants us to be holy, as He is holy. God understands that the path of discipline is painful and really tough. The motivation to this race is to produce righteousness and peace in our souls. This righteousness and peace cannot be shaken and is protected by God. I pray that I can continue to train and be better disciplined. It's hard and there's always a daily battle of being righteous but I know that God will shine through the struggle.

Psalm 125:1-2 NIV 1 Those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion,    which cannot be shaken but endures forever. 2 As the mountains surround Jerusalem,    so the Lord surrounds his people    both now and forevermore. Every day during the Bible In One Year app, they start out with Psalms.I have been growing very fond on Psalm and all the praising, glorifying and singing in it. This one here really hit me. As you know or may not know, Justin Beiber just came out with a new album called "Purpose". I am really encouraged that he made the title of the album Purpose because the song itself talks about how God gave him a gift, the gift of purpose. I am currently asking myself what my purpose is and how can I fulfill it. At the moment as well, I feel shaky in my relationship with God and others. I am encouraged by this psalm this morning to trust in the Lord because I cannot be shaken and will endure forever. Even if someone kills me during a terror attack (pray for Paris and the rest of the world), that my faith will be still and endure until my last breath. Even if from the outside, it looks terrible and there's a lot of suffering going on, I know that my heart and my soul will be surrounded by God and his protection. It is certainly greater to keep your soul and spirit protected rather than mortality. I will be praying that God can use these terror attacks for his glory. Lord God, please help these people (terrorists) to know you and to know your love that you have for the rest of us. There is so much pain and agony in Paris at the moment and we need you Lord to answer to the cries of help. Break my heart for what breaks yours. Amen.