stuff GCC loves (11/12)

Here it is, my last "Stuff GCC Loves"! It's been a good four years, and though I am (super duper duper duper) sad to see my time at GCC to come to an end, more than anything, I am (super duper duper duper) thankful to have been a part of this amazing community of believers during my college career.

"Stuff GCC Loves" lists and commentates on 10 things/activities/people that have prominently featured in the undergraduate GCC culture in the past academic year - the list, of course, is not comprehensive and I'm sure biases and availability heuristics come into play, so as always, feel free to correct any errors or point out other things I might have missed in the comments section!

STUFF GCC LOVES (11/12 VERSION)

1. Trolling
I'm not really sure when "trolling" entered the GCC lexicon, but both the word and the action sure became prevalent in this past year. But how to explain exactly what trolling is?
Urbandictionary.com defines "trolling" as the following:

 

Though trolling has its origins on the Internet, it was not limited to online interactions - it was very much done in person as well. One infamous trolling incident involved distributing someone's number to various people in Meyerson while singing "Call Me Maybe"...unbeknownst to the person whose number was being distributed. The person eventually found out, of course, once people started calling the number to find that it was not the distributor's number...but that of the trolled.

2. #whatshouldwecallme Tumblrs
Honestly, Blogspot is becoming a platform for Internet dinosaurs like me. Who wants to read text when you can look at pretty pictures and funny gifs on Tumblr? And that reblog button - so handy! You don't need to come up with original material at all - you can just repost something that someone else reposted from someone else who reposted from someone else who reposted from someone else because we're all about borrowing and collaborating these days anyway.
But even among those who don't use any kind of blogging tool, one Tumblr site stood out among the rest: #whatshouldwecallme.

With a plethora of snarky title+gif combinations that made people go "omgsh, that is SO TRUE," people found that #whatshouldwecallme and similar sites frequently expressed exactly how they felt about certain situations or people. So, why say in words what you could say in a moving image + a caption? Hence:

from penn students

from disney aficionados like j.k.

and of course, from 2013 for the class of 2012

Interesting how well we reappropriate mainstream culture for edification purposes! But seriously, if you feel like killing time, these sites have been quite amusing (and rather reassuring during finals season). Just make sure you don't DTR with someone using a gif.

3. Acronyms
Acronyms have always been popular since the dawn of time (ie. when "LOL" was first invented and the ozone layer was still intact) but this year included quite a few new ones, starting with family group names:
JAM: Jesus And Me
EPIC: Every Prayer In Christ
CIA: Christians In Action
PB&J: Praise Be to Jesus

and seemingly shady phrases like "HTHT" (Heart To Heart Talk):
Yeah, (insert brother here) and (insert sister here) are having HTHT before family group.
How was HTHT yesterday with X?
I love HTHT with Y!!

and this very awful phrase, "YOLO" (You Only Live Once):

4. Meyerson Culture
What would be a GCC-related post without talking about Meyerson? Not too many changes from previous years, but here are some highlights from Meyerson culture:

- ordering takeout from New Deck/Sangkee
Something about their proximity to Meyerson and New Deck's willingness to stay open until the late hours of the night (or early hours, depending on whether or not you just started studying...) makes these two popular locations for getting take-out to eat in the strangely geometric/white&orange lobby of Meyerson basement as passerby design students wonder what so many Asians are doing in their building (hide yo kids, hide yo wives) and fellow study-ers who haven't gotten dinner hope to steal a fry or two (or ten). 

- Sunday class prayer meetings
Almost every class had some form of class prayer (brothers' prayer, sisters' prayer, class prayer) on Sunday evenings. They made for some blessing times, not only for the classes partaking in such gatherings, but for other classes who were able to see them congregate in various rooms (or non-rooms like the aforementioned geometric/white&orange lobby). Cue: awwwwwww 

- punishment game

A certain dissenter said I could not include this one because I personally came up with this game, but my hope and dream (!) is that it is a tradition that is passed down along the generations so that productive studying can get done in Meyerson. Basically, the rules of the game are very simple. You list what you must get done by a particular time and then someone else determines the punishment that you will receive if you do not complete your assignments by the agreed-upon time. If the punishment is mortifying or undesirable enough, you'd be surprised by how efficiently you can work out of desperation. But for some people, you could end up enjoying the punishment a little too much...won't name who (coughTLcough)...which reminds me...

5. "Call Me Maybe"
This song (by a certain Carly Rae Jepsen who is 26 years old but looks 16) became a runaway hit this spring thanks to JBiebs and friends. Click each word in the title to watch a different rendition from various classes (2013, where your version at?)
But my personal favorite homage would be this photo:

(Some things just never change, huh?)

from gcc college retreat 2011

6. The Poconos
Spring break trips on a budget...sounds like it's time to go to the Poconos! In some ways, going to the Poconos has become somewhat of a rite of passage for many classes - once you go there...you can go anywhere...because hey, there's nothing that says bonding like cooking and playing board games and napping as a class for a few days in a crowded rental home in the middle of frigid Pennsylvania while the senior class is tanning and swimming and eating prepared meals somewhere tropical...
But in all seriousness, as far as I know, 2010-2014 (five classes!) have all gone to the Poconos so I'd say it's time to look for a new spring break destination 2015 can look forward to a good time as well!

clockwise from upper left: 2011+2012 paintballing, 2014 jam sesh, 2010 chillin', 2013 walk in the woods

7. Sabrina's After Band Crew
Thank you Lord for opening a Sabrina's on Drexel campus (34th&Powelton) because GCC would have nowhere to go to eat brunch...especially after Band Crew (a new thing this year where each family group would help band set up for Sunday service). From their famous stuffed French toast to all breakfast favorites in between (omelettes, huevos rancheros, eggs benedict, pancakes, etc.), Sabrina's is the place to be!

other popular foodie destinations this year:

• Yogorino, 20th&Locust/12th&Walnut (One of the best froyo places in Philadelphia)
• Vic Sushi, Between 20th&21st on Sansom (Get your sushi fix - 3 rolls for $11)
• Tea Talk, 10th&Race (Rising Tide? Please. Who can resist cute star lamps and their no-sleeves-necessary hot tea cups?)

8. Scramble With Friends/Draw Something
I personally am not an early adopter when it comes to iPhone games (actually, I just don't...adopt games at all...) but as C.P. pointed out, Scramble With Friends replaced Words With Friends and just as the frenzy was kicking in, Draw Something appeared and took all the SWF players. What's the next craze going to be? Hum Something? Dance With Friends? Wait...that's just clubbing...

yeah...

9. Jeremy Lin
Yup, GCC went a little bit LIN-sane this year. For those of you who have been living underneath a rock (or you just hate Asians D:), Jeremy Lin is the Harvard grad New York Knicks point guard that caused a sensation in February 2012 for unexpectedly leading a winning streak for the Knicks and expectedly capturing the hearts of Asian-American males who wanted to be like him and Asian-American females who wanted to date/marry him. I can't say too much about his technical awesomeness, you might want to consider the 89374893743 articles on his skillz or watch clips on Youtube. But for now, let me leave you with this nugget of a meme from (you guessed it) a Tumblr site called jeremylinheygirl.tumblr.com:

No offense to JLin or anything, but this year's GCC MVP (or, as known on this blog, the PotY) is not him. Not him at all. Rather, there are two Persons of the Year and these two are two very awesome people that GCC will be sad to see leave later this summer because they have been such blessings to us over the years...

10. P.Shan & P.Dave
Our beloved Pastors Shan and Dave have been around for like...ever. And now they're leaving— one to Boston to start married life and to serve in one of our newest sister churches, the other to New York to serve in another one of our sister churches and to keep any GCC2012 alumni from having any fun in NYC...
We will definitely miss both of you, and we pray that God continue to use you in powerful ways that will bear much fruit and produce a ton of solid kingdom workers like you! Thank you for everything :)

d-day is coming up soon...cue: awwwwwwwwwwwwww

if you haven't seen this video yet...go watch it! check out p.dave's fb to meet gcc's newest internet celebrities (watch out jyl) and cue: awwwwwwww

And this concludes this year's STUFF GCC LOVES (11/12)! Dang mang, I was kind of at a loss over what to put up this year because I feel like I haven't been as social/observant as in past years, but hopefully this was an entertaining list at the very least.
I do want to leave y'all with one of my favorite videos from this past year, inspired by the hit sensation "S*!# Girls Say" and its gazillion+1 remakes/renditions on Youtube - it's at 675 views at the time of this post, so I'm sure the creator will appreciate hitting a thousand views if possible :)

ALSO, one last plug for AMI Revolution 2012, which will be held in Philadelphia again this summer from June 28 to July 1. Sign up to have an awesome time connecting with the Lord and connecting with people!

Happy Summer, everyone! Miss you all ♥

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Photo creds to friends on FB (W.F., J.L., J.W., S.C., K.H., A.S.) as well as Google Images.

Check out STUFF GCC LOVES from past years:
Stuff GCC Loves (10/11)
Stuff GCC Loves (09/10)
Stuff GCC Loves (SR original from 08/09)
Stuff GCC People Like (QL old school original)

the fullness of emptiness

That is the title I put on my last undergraduate English paper of my life to talk about the York Resurrection play/Jesus' resurrection in general but honestly, it's pretty apt for how I feel right now.

I've just graduated from Penn...and after frantically tossing the rest of my belongings into random plastic bags/a hujungous suitcase within 20 min and rushing over to lunch at 3 PM...I am now back home and I don't really know what to do with myself. I feel like I've been in denial this past week, knowing that I'd see a good amount of people in June and perhaps July, and even today, as we wrapped up taking pictures, I just kind of walked away without sharing too many farewells, partly because I felt bad for my tired&hungry family, partly because I didn't feel like saying goodbye would be enough to express exactly how much I'm going to miss everyone and how much they all mean to me.

I'm sitting in my room, with all these suitcases and plastic bins waiting to be unpacked, and it's overwhelming to know that I have enough stuff to fill two bedrooms (and yeah, last time I checked, I only have one.) But, what's even more overwhelming to know is that I will never, ever live in the same 6x6-block space as all the people that I have come to absolutely love in the last four years. I don't have a roommate bouncing around to "Call Me Maybe" right outside my door right now. I don't have a BFFL a few blocks away right now, ready to receive any and all of my immaturity with grace and patience and love the night before graduation. I don't have brothers to troll me with ridiculous questions and comments while munching on mesquite BBQ chips or making a Starbucks run with me right now. I don't have all these cute underclassmen studying/"studying" in one of my most favorite buildings on campus an 8-min walk away right now. In my very full room, it just seems so...empty.

And yet, this emptiness gestures to a fullness that is so tangible in my heart - a fullness of life and love from my college career that will be irreplaceable. Yes, I'm moving on to (hopefully) bigger and perhaps even better things, so it's not like I will never be happy or feel fulfilled ever again. But the people that I've met and gotten to know and the experiences that we've shared and grown through will forever be imprinted on my heart, so that even in the physical absence, there will be a distinct presence that will remind me of God's faithfulness and care.

I am so blessed to have been able to sit with some of my closest friends throughout college during my various ceremonies - side by side, just like we've been running this race side by side. I looked to my left and I looked to my right and I saw brothers and sisters who not only have shown me love but also shown how much they love the Lord. And though we will continue on different paths from here on out, I know that they will continue to show that to others and that we will spur one another toward love and good deeds.

BAH, I know that hardly anyone will read this...but for those 2012ers who do...know that I love you all so very much. I suck at expressing it sometimes, and I'm pretty forgetful, AND I will most likely be absolutely terri-bad-awful at keeping in touch, but yeah. I love you all ♥

Thank you, Lord, for an amazing four years. Truly, truly, (forsothe, forsothe) every good and perfect gift comes from You alone.

You're where i want to be

It's strange to think that as of right now, today was my second-to-last Sunday at GCC. Next week will be my last, and then the week after, instead of being at church, I'll have to be at the Communication graduation ceremony. 

It hit me pretty hard during service today, and it's sad to think that maybe God is calling me away from this community, telling me to go and use what I've learned here to bless others and grow elsewhere. I've had renewed hope in the last few weeks that maybe He'll let me stay here, but in the event that I'm wrong (because sometimes I'm wrong about certain convictions/"convictions") — this is the final countdown.

I'll admit that I'm scared. I'll admit that I'm no longer ready to move on from this place. I'll admit that I don't know if I'm following His voice because I'm not entirely sure I can hear it right now. In some ways, I'm asking for circumstantial evidence/confirmation just like Gideon, but what can I say? I am weak, I am faithless, but I want to believe. I want to believe that if I ask with faith, I can and will receive. But perhaps the question is, am I asking for the "right" thing? Has God already given me an answer to a different request, and I'm just blind to it at the moment, the same way I was at first blindly disappointed that I didn't get into my dream college of 13 years? 

All I know is that I want to be where He is, I want to see the things that He sees, I want to be a part of the things that He is doing. Where is that? I don't know. 

I don't know, but Lord, let me not go astray and let me be satisfied in You. 

my heart is so small

I'm not the leader I thought I would be,

I'm not doing the things I thought I would be doing,

But I'm trying.

I'm really, really trying. 

the fight

You’re calling me now to rest in Your presence
To lay down my burdens and stop my resistance
You’re lifting my head to show that You love me
But why’s it so hard to feel You beside me?

Every step I take to You
Makes me hesitate
Cuz I know that I’m not perfect

Your love gives life
Your Word speaks truth
But I am stumbling through the lies
Your touch sets free
The hurts and fears that bind me
But I am holding on too tight
Oh, forgive this child of Yours
Oh, I just need to be assured
That You won’t let me lose this fight

I know I said I’d put all my trust in You
That I’d forgive myself and learn to lean on You
I know I once prayed that I’d surrender it all
But here I am trying to be the one who’s in control

Every step I take to You
Brings me to my knees
Cuz I know that You’re so worthy

Your love gives life
Your Word speaks truth
But I am stumbling through the lies
Your touch sets free
The hurts and fears that bind me
But I am holding on too tight
Oh, forgive this child of Yours
Oh, I just need to be assured
That You won’t let me lose this fight

What more can I say
What more can I do
In front of the King who knows all things? (x4)

But ask for more faith
Ask for more of You
Because I know You won’t withhold

Your love gives life
Your Word speaks truth
But I am stumbling through the lies
You say it’s okay
That sometimes I turn away
Because You'll never let me go
Oh, forgive this child of Yours
Oh, I just need to be assured
That You won’t let me fight alone.

[Sarah R. © 2012.]

what it means to be an adult

As I look towards my 22nd birthday this week (already! how did time fly by so quickly?), and as I try to maneuver around choices regarding my future, I realize that being an adult is hard not because there's no one telling you what to do anymore but because oftentimes, there is no right answer that anyone would be able to command you to believe or follow. Of course, there are blatantly wrong things (illegal things, unbiblical things, etc.), but when it comes down to deciding between two or more technically "good" things or "right" things, it really means putting trust in God and taking a step of faith in one direction, believing that (provided it's not illegal or unbiblical or totally unwise) God will allow that path to be fruitful if we are faithful.

This Lent season will be interesting because I'm in a place where I have been before - the struggles aren't necessarily new, the things that must be surrendered have been surrendered before in different forms - but that doesn't mean God won't be moving in my life. I just have to make sure I commit to Him because I've been in danger of falling into (or perhaps I have already fallen into) a senioritis of all forms - academic, emotional, spiritual.

Let my heart and mind be open to receive Your guidance and Your grace! There is nothing I can't surrender to You if I have Christ to strengthen and encourage me.

dying to live

It's not necessarily more wisdom that I need right now - it's more that I need the courage and the strength to follow through on what I know is right.

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. (Hebrews 12:1-2).

Lord, it's hard right now to throw off the things that hinder and to run while fixing my eyes on You - I feel like though the years have passed and I've learned many lessons, I still fail in the same ways, I'm still immature in the same ways, I'm still weak in the same ways. How can I simultaneously feel so different from the person I was three years ago and yet so much the same?

---

But Lord, I am amazed by You. I am amazed how You can love me so perfectly without comparing me to anyone else, without making me feel like I have to compete for Your love amongst a sea of people that You also call Your daughters and sons. You call me by my name, not servant #92403574959643. You know me, and You are delighted that I know You, not because it merely feeds Your ego (and You alone deserve to have an enormous ego), but because You love me.

You love me.

Though I don't want to be my same old self, I thank You that Jesus is the same yesterday and today and forever.

You love me.

 

you can have all this world, but give me Jesus

Who am I to You? 

Am I really Your precious daughter?

When I am alone,

When I am alone,

When I am alone,

Give me Jesus.

Give me Jesus, the Most High

Give me Jesus, the Holiest One

Give me Jesus, the Loving Savior

Give me Jesus, the Author and Perfecter of my faith

Give me Jesus, the Source of Life and Hope

moses and Jesus and me

Since December, I've kind of been tracking+contemplating the journey+leadership of Moses in Exodus for some inspiration+guidance, but I think one of the more striking passages about Moses and his relationship with God comes from Numbers 12.

Verses 1-9 say this:

1 Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses because of the Cushite woman whom he had married, for he had married a Cushite woman. 2 And they said, “Has the LORD indeed spoken only through Moses? Has he not spoken through us also?” And the LORD heard it. 3 Now the man Moses was very meek, more than all people who were on the face of the earth. 4 And suddenly the LORD said to Moses and to Aaron and Miriam, “Come out, you three, to the tent of meeting.” And the three of them came out. 5 And the LORD came down in a pillar of cloud and stood at the entrance of the tent and called Aaron and Miriam, and they both came forward. 6 And he said, “Hear my words: If there is a prophet among you, I the LORD make myself known to him in a vision; I speak with him in a dream. 7 Not so with my servant Moses. He is faithful in all my house. 8 With him I speak mouth to mouth, clearly, and not in riddles, and he beholds the form of the LORD. Why then were you not afraid to speak against my servant Moses?” 9 And the anger of the LORD was kindled against them, and he departed.

(And then Miriam gets struck with mad leprosy, which prompts Aaron to plead with Moses, who then pleads with God...)

What sticks out from the passage personally is:

a) Moses is given a huge compliment in verse 3 when it says Moses was the most meek man on the FACE OF THE EARTH. NIV (sorry to all those with ESV superiority complexes out there :P) uses the word "humble", which to me is more impressive than "meek" because "meek" always reminds me of a mouse (...but don't ask why, I have no idea), but "humble"...that's big stuff mang. Jesus is THE Humble King, but pre-Jesus-on-Earth, there was a point when Moses was the most humble man in the world. And yet he was in a position of such authority and power during this time. How was it possible to take on all this crazy responsibility and still keep a humble heart? There have been many times when I have been humbled through serving, realizing how far I fall short and how little I have to offer on my own, but to be humble? All the time? In every circumstance? No matter who or how many look up to me or depend on me or think well of me? That's difficult, and it is a character trait that necessitates a great amount of pruning and surrendering and living in awe/fear of God.

b) Verses 6-8 are even crazier. God explains to Aaron and Miriam exactly how special and beloved Moses is (Cushite wife or not) by making the comparison between a regular prophet (to whom the LORD makes Himself known through visions and dreams and riddles) and Moses (with whom the LORD speaks "mouth to mouth", or as in NIV, "face to face"). I'll be real - at first glance, I'm kind of jealous that Moses has such an intimate relationship with God, a relationship God Himself claims to be unlike any other, where Moses regularly "beholds the form of the LORD." God and Moses be so tight that Moses glows with all that love! (Literally.)

But what's craziest is that I shouldn't be jealous. After all, through Christ, a way to the Father - to know and to see God the Father - was made for regular people like me. Jesus says in John 14, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you had known me, you would have known my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him." Of course, since I wasn't alive when Jesus physically walked the Earth as a man, it's kind of like, wait a minute. I never got to see Jesus face to face, so I actually haven't been able to see God either. But that's really missing the point, plus 1 John states: "Beloved, we are God's children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is" — all thanks to Jesus.

The question now becomes, do I live like this is the truth? When I become discouraged about leadership, about my character and purpose, do I sit here wishing I could hear from God more directly and envying those who seem to be able to do so...or do I go to Jesus?

My final thoughts rest with John 6:28-29 — the disciples ask Jesus, "What must we do, to be doing the works of God?" And Jesus replies quite simply, "This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent."

To know God, to partake in His works, to be confident of an intimate relationship with my Father...it begins with Jesus. 

from 2011, to 2012

2011 was a strange year. A very, very busy year. There were tasks that I had set out to accomplish, and I did, praise God. But somewhere along the way, I also got very tired and became disillusioned with a lot of the things that I had held in such importance for quite a while. I came to terms and let go (...or stopped trying?). By the end of the year, I think I can safely say that I became more mature, but was it at the expense of (surprisingly unintentionally) shutting off my emotions?

As I look towards the rest of this year, it's really all up in the air what will go down. Where will I go? What will I do? What relationships will I form, strengthen, keep, break, lose? What ideas, projects, goals, dreams will come up and come to fruition? A lot of questions, not a whole lot of answers.

I'm drained from trying to generate my own strength for the last year — strength to move on, strength to be disciplined, strength to lead, strength to achieve, strength to love (persistently, unexpectantly), strength to believe. I admit I'm at fault, for thinking I could do it all by myself, so please, can You help me?

3 things:
1. I want to dare to dream again.
2. I ask for a vivacity within me, like never before — a fullness of Your life, to give meaning to this life.
3. I need revival.