January 11, 2025

I used to enjoy Scuba diving a lot in my 20s. After you put on your gear, you jump off the boat into the water. You might think that you would sink into the water right away, but it doesn’t work like that. For you to go underwater, you must let the air out of the vest (BCD - buoyancy control device) by using one of the valves attached. Once you let all the air out, the body will sink into the water, but there are times when your body is under water but doesn’t drop down. That’s because you still have air in your lungs. In that case, you need to relax and simply breathe out and let it go. Then, you will find yourself moving down and start enjoying marine life.

After my runs, I always take about 15 minutes to stretch. I have been stretching religiously since I have had injuries. Stretches have been super helpful in my recovery and maintaining good run health. At first I started following instructors online, and an important part of stretching is breathing. If you stretch without breathing in and out properly, you will notice that your body still feels tense. In a routine, the instructor would tell you to breathe in, then breathe out. When you breathe out in a relaxed manner, you will notice how much more of your body part that you are stretching, will stretch out more and give you a sensation of the body being more refreshed. The key is to let it go.

There’s a little frame hanging between the entrance to the men’s room and the women’s room. It says, “LET GOD.” The first five letters ‘let go’ are colored the same, and the last letter ‘d’ has a different shade of color. So you can read it as “Let go,” and “Let God.” James 4:7 tells us that we should “submit to God.” In verse 10 it says, “Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.” How powerful are these words? May we learn to let go of our egos, and let God work in us as we begin this new year!

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December 28, 2024

During the holidays, we were in a neighboring state to spend time with our friends. The day after Christmas, Hyemi sent me on an errand to buy a list of ingredients to bake a cake with the kids. The mart parking lot seemed full the day after the big holiday, and while I was figuring out where to park, I noticed a car pulling out of its spot which was fairly close to the mart entrance. I said, “Jackpot!” and drove right next to the spot and turned on my signal. A moment later, there  was another car approaching from the other side that surely saw my vehicle with my blinker on. As soon as this car pulled out of its spot, this other car quickly stole my spot and parked. I yelled at myself, “Oh, come on!!!” I had to find another spot far away. I think many of you have similar experiences.

I got into the mart, only to find out that half the ingredients that I needed to buy were out of stock, after all, it was the holiday season. This added to my frustration that I got from getting my parking spot stolen, and I had to return other items back to the shelves. When I came to the entrance to return the cart, a young man working there said with a nice, big smile, “I can take that for you.” When he said that, I noticed inside his work vest a red UW hoodie. “Are you from Wisconsin?” I asked. “No, but I go to school there.” I told him that I live in Wisconsin and he gave me a thumbs up and a nice, friendly smile once more. This interaction wiped away all of my mental state of being upset and I was feeling a lot better.

We are at the end of the year, and when I think about the two types of people I met that day, I wonder what kind of person I want to be remembered as in 2024, and how I want to improve myself in the new year. In my prayers, I enjoy saying, “May we reflect the character of Jesus.” Let’s think about the words of Paul in 1 Corinthians 11:1, “Imitate me, just as I also imitate Christ.” I pray that we will think about the goodness of God and copy Him as best as we can in the new year and be a blessing to all those around us. God bless you all!

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January 4, 2025

Happy New Year, church family! My brother’s family were over for the holidays and we spent the New Year’s Day together. During their stay here, my nephew Paul took out his first baby tooth, but it was not an easy process. Paul is an extremely cautious young boy, and while his tooth was shaking real bad, he didn’t like the idea of pulling it out. When his parents would convince him to pull it out, he just wouldn’t let them do it. I think this went on the whole week they were here. It was time for him to pull it out because a new adult tooth was coming up, and the baby tooth was quite loose. Yet Paul wouldn’t let anyone touch it. 

Finally, on Thursday evening, everyone gathered to convince this little boy. His sister Gracie and my daughters were telling him that it doesn’t hurt, and I showed a video of when Sebin got her first tooth pulled out. Paul gave in, very hesitantly. His mom tied up a thin string around the tooth and let it sit until he was ready to give it a go. My brother had his phone ready, and when his mom pulled up, the tooth came off just like that and Paul didn’t even feel it. This is a common experience all families go through, but still, it is a big deal. We all cheered and celebrated this special moment. The moment was recorded on my brother’s phone, and I know the moment will pop up on his phone each year! 

There’s a special moment in the Israelite calendar that is meaningful. It’s the Passover. In fact, the Passover is their New Year’s Day of the religious calendar. “This month shall be your beginning of months; it shall be the first month to you.” Exodus 12:2. The liberation of the Israelites was such a big deal that God commanded it to be celebrated and made it the start of a year. We are in the new year of 2025. I pray that we will focus on the freedom from sin that God will deliver for us and that we will always celebrate salvation that was brought forth to us through His Son’s death on the cross. May God bless you and happy new year!

#pastorsblog #waukeshachurch