surprise visits

I had the joy of seeing near and dear friends close to my heart this past week very unexpectedly!

Lindsay and Tim were in town... I went to seminary with Lindsay and we had just about every class together our first year... and pretty much throughout seminary. They live in Troy, NY now, so it's a long way away. We only had a day, but it was still fabulous.

I also got to see the beautiful Valerie and her daughter Carly. Hurray!

It makes my heart glad to have such wonderful friends. Love you all!!

Psalm 19:2-5a

I'm currently on a pastor's retreat with the San Jose Presbytery in this beautiful place with plenty of hiking trails and beautiful gardens and scenery.

Anyway, we've been taking time to be present in creation and be in prayer. Tonight we did a meditation where we reflected on the words from Psalm 19:2-5a and then paid attention to what spoke to us in the passage and then took moments to pay attention to our surroundings outside. Then we were asked to allow the "book of creation" to interpret the "book of scripture"...both being from God... and see what we found.

There was a lot I discovered, but I found myself in that particular action re-writing the Psalm to what I observed, felt, saw, heard... etc. So, I thought I'd share what I wrote:

Psalm 19:2-5a (NAB)

The heavens declare the glory of God;

the sky proclaims its builder's craft.

One day to the next conveys that message;

One night to the next imparts that knowledge.

There is no word or sound;

no voice is heard.

Yet their report goes forth through all the earth,

their message, to the ends of the world.

***

The clouds declare the movement of God

the flowers display the Creator's artistry.

Even the dead foliage produces life;

And the old tree has stories to share.

There are bird songs and bug sounds;

The hills sing loudly.

They share the message of a living God,

Resurrection to all those who will listen.

Sharing Joys and Concerns

I have to share the sweet sweet story of one of my third graders today.

So, every week in worship, we have a time where we share our joys and concerns and then we pray together. The younger kids especially love this time.

I was online today and Rachel, one of the third graders, chatted with me and asked me if I could pray for her and her school because apparently they've shut down for 8 days due to some of the kids at the school having swine flu (this thing is really spreading fast in California).

Anyway, I told her that I'd definitely be praying and thanks for letting me know.

She wrote, "Thanks Pastor Irene! So how are you? Do you have any joys or concerns?"

This touched my heart. I loved it. I love that she feels cared for, and then also feels compelled to care for others as well.

:)

Just wanted to share that with you all today.

Missing Halmoni

It's been a couple of years now since my grandma passed on, and yet, I still have these moments of deep sadness. I mentioned in a blog last year about how so many stories were lost with her death that I never got to hear and that were never told or shared.

Anyway, the emotions were triggered this time in Target. Mother's Day is coming up, and me being the on top of it person with cards that I am, :), was looking through them to find cards for my mom and my aunts and friends who are moms.

Then I saw the ones for grandmas...

I sent my grandma cards for EVERYTHING... even St. Patty's day...and I was really really sad that I wasn't going to buy a card for her this Mother's Day. It's weird how little things trigger those emotions and memories deep within you.

Anyway, I have to post this picture of her again. I have it framed in my apartment. It's my favorite picture of her because I think so much of her spirit shows in it. She's wearing a t-shirt that all of us grandkids made for her on Mother's Day and it's a picture of all of us and says #1

Grandma. :)

Halmoni, bo go ship uh yo... Grandma, I miss you.

Happy 1st Birthday, Nahyun!

HAPPY 1ST BIRTHDAY, NAHYUN BABY!!

I know I said I'd try and stop blogging only about the children in my life, but it's Nahyun's 1st Birthday!! There's going to a big celebration as it's a Korean tradition to celebrate the baby's 1st year (dohl) in a huge way. Pics of that will come later! As for now, Happy Birthday Nahyun baby! Love, Irene imo.

Yejin

So, I know I should blog something about my Easter, and I plan to do that soon, but today, I have to share this beautiful picture of Yejin!!!

She is the daughter of my dear friend Rebby (Rebecca) and Jung-Bum in Portland and I almost started crying when I saw this picture because she is getting so big without me!!!

Anyway, I realize that many of my blog posts are about or include children, but man, I love kiddos. I just love them. Just needed to share some of the cuteness today!

Journeying through Holy Week

I've been journeying through the season of Lent and now through this Holy Week for the first time as a pastor... and I wanted to share that it has been such an incredible, different, and wonderful experience. I can't help but feel completely blessed right now. It is absolutely jammed with "busy," and at the same time, jammed with a joy I can't express fully.

As I enter into the final days and now it's officially "crunch time".... as I finish preparing for our Good Friday service tomorrow and the Easter sermon for our sunrise service... as I get ready to prepare dinner and decorate Easter eggs with the kids on Saturday, I feel like I should be stressed out, and instead, I want to shed tears of honestly feeling the grace of God pour over me.

Emotionally, it's been such a rough couple of months, and going through the motions of this season as a pastor has brought me a different resurrection from any other year. For that I'm so thankful.

Deep peace to all of you as we journey through the rest of this holy Holy Week.