The Old House

The workers started today on prepping the old house for a new coat of paint.

I arrived at 8:30 in the morning and they were already there, unloading things from their truck.

I started scrapping and they started covering all the furniture and floor.  Very professional.

It was so hot. I was dripping with sweat as if I had ran a marathon.

By 10a.m., they were starting to chip the ceiling of all lose cement.

By 2p.m. I started praying. What they were chipping off looked like my entire ceiling was going to come crashing down.  We needed hard hats. I AM NOT EXAGGERATING.  The boss said, "This is the worst that I've ever seen. If you didn't do this now, one more earthquake and your ceiling would have come down."

I finished scrapping the walls (this is only one of the walls that needed "scrapping") and headed back home at 4:30.

I will go over on Sunday to take pictures and upload them to show anyone who thinks I'm kidding what the ceiling looks like right now.

The workers are planning to be back on Monday morning and start the cement work, then the waterproofing paint, then the plastering and finally a new coat of paint!!!  I am planning on painting a few cabinets myself. And by next Saturday, everything should be finished and our "old" house will look like NEW.

Our Kitchen Ceiling!!!!

And yes, I will definitely take more pictures!

Seek Him First!

A Weekend "Free"

Isaiah took off this morning for Hualien with his Nanhu Senior High School Tennis Team. They have a tournament there. A special flower event is taking place in Hualien, so the coach was only able to get standing room train tickets.  Four hour ride on a very crowded train... then he sends a picture of his "room" -three people, one bed. The other two have to sleep on the floor. There is a TV and there is cable and internet connection.  He doesn't know the schedule but he might not play as his other teammates are better. I will find out more.

All this to say that I have a weekend "free"...

It's not going to be "free" to just sit and read and eat bonbons. UNFORTUNATELY...

I have many things to do. To start with,  I will be going over to the "old" house as workers are coming to scrap and paint. I will be scraping and painting the outside stairway.

I also hope to clean and organize the study.

Just these two tasks will take up my whole "free" weekend!

Isaiah comes back on Sunday night...

I wonder how much reading I will have time for...



Just for fun -- one of my favorite quotes from one of my favorite books--

Seek Him First!

What A Disappointment

Well... today, the second selection name list was released. That means for those who forfeited the first selection they now know which school they can attend.  Why was this a day of disappointment?

It turned out that if Isaiah would have forfeited his first selection, he would have been able to attend a better school in a regular class rather than be in the PE Class.

What a shock.

He could have had his summer vacations.

He could have had his winter vacations.

He would not be sweating out there running laps and doing drills.

Can anything be done?

NO... unless he wants to wait another year and take the tests again next year and see how he fairs.

I am disappointed too.

We have to spend more money for him to be involved in the PE Class since he has to buy tennis rackets and tennis shoes and new clothing items. We registered for tennis camp.  We had to pay for the airline tickets to be changed.  And our plans will be changed for the next three years.  All this could have been avoided if --
1.  He had studied as we thought he was doing this past year.

Now, he will have to take the consequences of his actions.

I do know --
God is faithful.
God is good.
God is sovereign.

God's character helps me to stay on solid ground.


Seek Him First!

Our Old House

I have been quite busy these days as the wonderful couple who had rented our old house for the past three years moved out. They bought their own place -- right next door to where we're living now.

I have had to contact painters to give me an estimate as I'd like to have the whole place painted.

I also went over to give the place a good cleaning and to move the furniture around a bit.

Today, as I left the house, I looked around and felt quite nostalgic. The marble floor was so cool in the summer and the kids loved lying on it with only their diapers on.  The three big huge cabinets that we had to use a crane to get them into the house.  The back balcony where I had my morning time with God.

I felt blessed.



Seek Him First!

It Is Hot

It has been a while since I've been in Taiwan during the whole month of August.  And it is hot... and sticky... I would love to take three showers a day. And as for going for a run outside, forget it.  I don't want to get that dark. I'd go running at night, but I'm in bed by 10:30 since I'm getting up at 5a.m.  You can feel the heat even in the early morning hours. Isaiah sweats through three shirts a day!!!

Being here when it is so hot, reminded me of this verse --


Only God can truly satisfy our thirst!
Seek Him First!

Jet Lag

I don't have time for jet lag.

I landed in the States with both feet running and it has been the same upon our return to Taipei.

By Friday morning, I had put all the things away.

By Friday afternoon, a dear friend brought over her dog for us to take care of.

Isaiah had practice on Friday and Saturday.

Today, we went to church. Before church, I went to our old house to see what needs to be done.  A lot needs to be done!  I have to find a painter to repaint the whole house. And there are lots of stuff to organize and to clean up.  I also went to our HOP Office to pack up two boxes for donation.

I wanted to post about our time in the States and to let you see some pictures of things we've been doing.

I think I will do that tomorrow.

A verse to summarize these past three days not to mention these past four weeks in the States --

Seek Him First!

On Our Way

Isaiah and I are sitting at the Ichon Airport in Seoul, Korea.

We've been here since 5a.m. August 7th!

We left LAX on August 6th at 12:20a.m.

Tomorrow is already Friday, August 8th.  Where did this week go?

Actually, that's what I'd say about these four weeks!

We will be leaving in about an hour on another Asiana flight --

It will be so nice to be back in Taipei!  Yes, it will be hot.  Isaiah will be going to practice tomorrow morning at 8a.m.  I will have plenty to do, trying to put everything away.

But like these past four weeks and all the days in the future, I know my God is with me and He holds me in the palms of His mighty hands.  In Him, all things are possible.  I can rest in His care.

Seek Him First!