Lots Happening!

My Mom's birthday was yesterday... and one of my best friends' birthday was on Jan. 28th.

I can't believe I didn't get to post.

Lots have been going on.

A dear couple is trying to find a nice apartment to rent.

Another couple is struggling in their relationship.

And dear Wendy and Ryan are trying to help their sweet daughter's tummy get settled.  She seems to be having a lot of gas or something, which makes her feel super uncomfortable.

With all these things happening, I actually turned off the computer before I had a chance to blog.

Alan took my mom and Daddy George out for lunch. My mom loves going out to eat. And she told me about the free slice of cake that she was served.  And a helper gave her a small cake for her birthday.  These little gestures made her day.

Isaiah is down in Miaoli and he lined me to tell me that he won his first single's match in tournament play. He is thrilled. We're going to celebrate!


Seek Him First!

Uncle James Is Here Again

My brother James is opening up a new market here in Taiwan with a new company.  Thus, he came the first week of January and is back again for TWO weeks this time.  He thinks he's going to be back again the first week of March and maybe here every month, depending on how well this new product is launch here in Taiwan.

Isaiah loves dining out with Uncle James. This time we went to a restaurant called, "Corner Office". It's just around the corner from his hotel and he conducts many of his meetings here, treating people to a meal. The portions aren't that big and the food isn't exceptionally tasty.  But it's convenient and all the staff loves James.  He usually has a group of at least eight people, so his bill is usually above 4,000NT$. And his shirt matches the uniform of all the waiters and waitresses. He also calls them by their first name and has already come to know who does or does not have a BF or a GF.

Since he is working, we don't get to see much of him.  I wanted him to stay for Chinese New Year. But he's planning to head back to Vietnam.

Seek Him First!

Winter Schedule and Plans

Both Isaiah and Abby have officially finished their first semester and the 'winter schedule' has started.

Abby now has 8 days of winter review from 7:30 to 12:30.  She started today and will finish on 2/6. Her vacation will start on 2/7 and she goes back to school 2/24. But during this 'vacation', she has lots of homeschooling assignments to complete -- essays to write, book reports to do and unit tests to take.

Isaiah has tennis practice Monday to Friday from 8:30 to 5:30. Practice on Saturday will be from 8:30 to 12:30. He will also be joining a couple of competitions and friendship tournaments during this time. On Feb. 15th he will officially start his CNY vacation.

I hope to do something fun each day when they both have the time off. I asked Isaiah yesterday what he'd like to do and he said, "Nothing!". I think both of them would just enjoy sleeping in until 12 noon. That's what they call a vacation. Oh, they would also love to be on their cell phone all day!!!

As for me, I don't want to drive, so we might just end up renting movies to watch at home.  We'll see.



Seek Him First!

Encouraging Promises

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Crazy at Costco

I ventured to go to Costco this afternoon with Abby.  While driving towards Costco, I knew it was not going to be a quick run in and out when we couldn't even get into the parking lot.  We made it down to B3 and it was completely full. God is so good. As I turned one corner, a car was just pulling out. So, I was able to get a parking space.

As we went up the people mover, I looked down to see the cash registers -- every one of them had at least 5 carts in line!!! Oh my...

Abby and I split up to get things.  She went to get milk and ice cream, while I went to get cheese and sandwich meat. So, this was what we did. We were in line to check out in less than 15 minutes.  Our next stop -- James' hotel all the way on the other side of Taipei.

When we got there, James had just arrived. Again, God is so good.  We made the 'exchange' and we were heading back to Neihu.  While at the hotel, I had asked for directions, as I had no time to get lost.

We made it back to our house by 5:20 -- totally amazing!  God is so good!

Abby ate a quick dinner and we were out the door by 5:45.  She got to the cram school right on time at 6pm!!!

What a crazy afternoon!


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Sleeping In

I let the kids sleep in today.

They didn't get up until after 12noon.

I woke them up for lunch and then we were off to church by 2:10.

While they slept, I went through another couple of cupboards in the kitchen. I found two little plastic cups that the kids had used when they were young. I threw them out.  I kept them for sentimental value.  But it's time to let things go... I have other items that are more important. Still it was not easy to put the cups in the recycling bin.

Since I was cleaning and sorting, I never heard Alan trying to skype me. So, I haven't talked to him in days.  One week down -- four more to go.

But then I got a message from my brother, James, via 'wechat'. He will be arriving in Taipei tomorrow afternoon and staying at the same hotel and in the same room.  I will have to go and drop off things for him at the hotel.

Things just never slow down around here.


Seek Him First!

Back to "Work"

I've been thinking about this... doing some part time teaching.  But as I was in this thinking phase, opportunities have been knocking on my door. Really!  An upstairs neighbor asked me to tutor her. I told her, "Not until September."  But then I received a referral from a friend regarding a lady who needed help.  This lady signed up for the BULATS exam on January 29th and needed help for the speaking part of the exam. She is presently planning on a big job switch and it's crucial for her to pass this test in order to qualify.  She has done extremely well in every other needed qualifications except for this.  And since the exams are just days away, I said yes. 

Today was our first time together.  In two hours we did a lot.  I had asked her to think about whether or not she would want to continue after our initial meeting. And at the end of two hours, she said YES.  I thought she would want some time to think about it.  She would be finished with the tests, so does she really want to continue?  But I think she felt very comfortable with me.  And at the end of our session, I invited her to pray with me. I think I want to do that every week.

In preparation for this first session, I spent at least two hours gathering information and getting together a question bank. So, when another friend approached me about another opportunity, I really had to think and pray.  If I am spending two hours to prep for two hours of tutoring, I think this other opportunity might turn out to be more time consuming that I'd like my schedule to be.  

In all this, I am laying every decision in God's hands, claiming an old favorite from Prov. 3:5-6. 

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Very Little Free Time

One thing I thought I'd be doing more is RUNNING... But quite the opposite has been true.

I have ran only twice a week... With Alan gone and not sleeping enough, my body just doesn't want to move. Plus, as I had posted earlier, I have started to sort and clean and organize different areas of our house.  And to do that, I need LONG blocks of time. It's hard to start and then to stop before the job is completed.  Why?  One reason is, I just can't walk away when things are 'spilling' over my dining room table or living room floor.  I want to get it done before I go off to pick up the kids or run an errand or meet up with someone.

For example, right now, my dining room table is covered with name cards that we have collected over the years.  I'd say we have at least 100+ name cards.  I'm trying to sort through them and then find a way to organize them so that I can find what I need faster.

Another reason is -- I've borrowed several language books and CDs from the local public library. I'd like to listen to them while I'm working on cleaning.  I've listened to Korean, Vietnamese, Cantonese, Taiwanese, Spanish, Hebrew and I'm going to try Turkish.  The local library also has Thai and Japanese.  I am limited on how many I can check out at one time.  I'd also like to find Arabic, Portuguese and German. Not that I'm learning these languages, but it's fantastic to listen to the sounds and I do try to pick up a few words.  Very stimulating!

Like the Bible says in Rev. 7:9,

and verse 10 says,  And they cried out in a loud voice:

“Salvation belongs to our God,
who sits on the throne,
and to the Lamb.”

As I listen to the different language CDs, I can begin to imagine what it might sound like as people cry out in a loud voice in their own tongue.  Wow... How magnificent!

Seek Him First!