Snow post..

It is rather late right now and I should be in slumberland, but I decided to type what is currently on my mind right now. I guess I am a little inspired by the snow. We are expecting 8-11 inches and so far we got about 6.

Well as some of you already know I have been in a pretty wretched funk. I don’t know what the source of this all has been. However through some seeking and soul search (IE prayer) I am feeling like I am back to my sweet spot. Maybe not entirely, but definitely on the right track. At least my co-worker Kelli will say that I’m getting there.

There are a few things that I have been working on the last week or so. I feel these things are important when you are in a funk as I have been in the last 2-3 weeks.

First of all, esteem people. Value people for who they are, not what they can do for you or what type of skills they possess. I have read that it is easier for anyone to look up to or esteem people with exceptional skills, but everyone is worthy of esteem because they are unique and different from all of us and can definitely teach us a few things. Esteeming others allows you to see the potential that they can possess. That is a mark of a good leader.

Secondly, Encouraging others. Encouraging others helps make their discourage goes away. It may not be the ultimate solution, but it definitely helps. After all encouraging in its root meanings have the connotations of “instilling courage” into someone.
This helps them to believe in themselves and you are instilling that courage into them. This helps the individual to continue to do what they have been doing or it may allow them to change their approach for the better. I have been encouraging people more, and even when I am in a state of discourage. I realize when I encourage someone, I feel less discourage about myself. This takes the focus off of me and puts it on someone who may need it more than I do.

Lastly, is Championing someone. Championing someone is challenging them and telling them that they can give more than what they are giving. This does not mean that you want to burn them out. It is seeing some of the things that are unknown in the person (maybe potential) and helping them to achieve things they may not have known that they could achieve. It is almost like pushing them over the edge but staying grounded to where they are. Character comes out of these times, and growth happens when they go through these times and come out on top. It is important however to recognize how far you can push someone before they break.

Then again, is breaking a bad thing? I don’t think in all situations it is. Think about this: When you break a bone, or even a child breaks their bones, it actually heals and becomes harder than it was than before. This is when callouses are born. Which in turn makes it a little more difficult to break again.
Or that natural forest fires need to happen because through the destruction, the ashes and the cleaning of the forest allows for new birth of plants to grow. See where I am getting at? I am not a scientist by any means but I get concepts.

Anyways, This is how I got out of my funk and continuing to get out of it. If I have esteemed you, encouraged, or championed you, it is not for my own personal needs, it is actually for you and for me to take the focus off of myself.

God bless!

Sokkha

Life as of lately, again…

I know I promised some of you guys that I would write a little more often. Truth is my life is actually pretty boring. Nothing is happening in my life and there are no new adventures on the horizon. Okay, I lied about that last thought. There has been quite a bit happening in my life and maybe in the life of others. I do apologize to some of you because I haven’t communicated in a while. Well let me see whats going on in my life…

Recently, I watched this movie Avatar. Heard of it? You better believe you have heard of it. Right now it is the highest grossing movie of all time. I know I guess I am a movie nerd and by the time you finished this sentence you will probably have checked out. On one hand the movie was a beautiful movie. One of the most spectacular movies I have seen of all time. On the other hand, it was a decent story line with an above average plot that was not original. Still with me? Good.

Another thing, I have decided starting next Monday to have a Four Days of Soup and it is intended to build some community around my apartment building and to get to know people that I rarely talk to anymore. I am also showing off my culinary skills. I think I have decided what soups I am going to make. Ready for this? The first day, I think I will make chicken wonton soup. Followed by Potato/leek soup, then it will be Chicken and Brown Rice Medley, and to finish off the fourth week will be Red Curry Chicken. Yeah, I know I am such a great host.

Lastly, I will talk a little bit about school life. First of all I am 2 semesters away from graduating and am anxiously waiting until the day i walk the aisle. Well both aisles. hehe. This time it will be for my diploma not my wedding band. Well if God moves in mysterious ways, who knows? Anyways, currently, I am taking a poetry class and I am loving almost every minute of it. Except for the fact that I stink at poetry writing. If you guys want to see any of my work, I might post it here for you all to read. Hopefully I will refine some of the poems I write and make it bearable for you guys to digest. Believe me, I am just getting started.

One final final note. Most of you guys know that I am studying to be a Pastor. I am taking this Church Administration class and recently I have been ignited with the passion again for ministry. I know I am always back and forth to see if I missed something along my journey. I have greatly enjoyed the midwest and I will do whatever it takes to fulfill the will of God. Anyways, as an encouragement for you out there who are my friends who read this: God has a plan for you and your life. Hopefully that will line up with what you want to do. Until next time, God Bless!

Sokkha

“All I Want For Christmas…. Is You..!”

Yes, my favorite Christmas song of all-time is the title of this blog. Of course performed by Mariah Carey, not the Christina Aguilera or any other phony remakes of this song. I know I sent a couple of my friends this song, in hopes that they may be able to visit me during my Christmas break. I tried but to no avail and they were all very busy with their lives. Hopefully I will see them soon.

This Christmas season was a lot easier for me than it was last year. Maybe because I am getting used to idea that I may not be home again or that I am just growing up and becoming an “adult”? Either way, I finished my 7th semester of my North Central life and looking forward to two more in the up and coming year. Some of you guys know that Christmas Eve has been tough on me the last few years due to the death of my grandma. That was a hard time in my life, and I thought about her and took a moment to remember her. If you do not know the story, her death was significant in my life because it allowed me to question a lot of things in my life and it eventually led me to go back to college. I can give you the whole story and process if you ask. Otherwise it would definitely be too long to post it on my blog.

On the other side of Christmas eve, I did not scramble around looking for last minute gifts because all my family were at home. I just sent out gift certificates and money back home. It was painless. I also increased my work hours for the Winter Break, and got a nice paycheck. I also worked on Christmas eve and it was the worse day to work because it was very slow when I got there. I think it was due to the fact that we got like 15 inches of snow the 3 days it was snowing and people were doing most of their shopping prior to the eve.

For Christmas day, I went out to one of my bosses house for Christmas Dinner and hanging out with his family. He has an awesome house with a great view of the lake. I knew he was a great guy, but oh man, his hospitality blew me out of the water and he did not just want to give me a place to go, he wanted to get to know me and my calling in life. He was raised in the Four-Square church and he has some background in ministry. We played games and watched some football. It was a great. Just to be part of a Christian family and enjoy dinner and good conversation (even though it was 50 miles away). It was great driving on clear roads the way there and on the way back. It did snow 20 mins after i parked my car and the temperature dropped under 30 and froze everything.

Thanks for reading my blog and I will try my darnest to update as much on my life as I can. Hope to catch up with you soon! God Bless and take care.

Mariah Carey Christmas

the little things…

A couple of weeks ago, I was working at Trader Joe’s and came across a couple who was very nice. As a Trader Joe’s employee we always get into conversation with our customers and see whats going on in their lives. Nothing too deep, but just to see how they are doing in general. Since it was a Saturday I asked him if he is enjoying his day off.

He replied with, “I am unemployed.” This really made the conversation take an awkward turn, and I just encouraged him to keep his head up and that there will be job opening up for him. He was really optimistic as well, but I also noticed that his wife was expecting a baby. Being the nosy person I am I asked her when she was expecting, and she replied with, “In two weeks.” This couple was really upbeat and it was really inspiring to see them take this as well as they did. While I continued to scan their groceries, I thought it would be nice if I would offer them some flowers. I asked one of my co-workers to get a bouquet of flowers and it was one of our better looking bouquets. I handed it over to the expectant mother and said to her, “To new life and a new job, Happy Holidays.”
They were shocked to say the least. I can sense the gratitude they had displayed and also in turn, I felt I was being blessed as well.

Reason why i wrote this is that today has been about two weeks. I am wondering how they are doing and what is going on in their lives. I am praying for them and that they would find provision in their lives. I am sure they are doing well.

This reminds me of the proverbs in 11:25: “A generous man will prosper, he who refreshes others will himself be refreshed.”

Quick overview of my life in the last 3 months…

Hey friends, sorry about not writing in a while. I know that the 3 of you who regularly read my blog are waiting anxiously for my next post. haha, okay maybe 2? Anyways, moving forward… A lot has been happening in my life these last couple of months. From being an ARD(Assistant Resident Director) to work at Trader Joes. Just to let you know I am loving almost every moment of my life except when I watch the Seattle Seahawks football team lose. Not to mention the Washington Husky Football team as well. After those loses they just drain me emotionally. The thing that I am looking forward to most in sports is the Washington Husky basketball team! They are currently ranked #14 in the country and 12-13 in other polls. Yeah I guess you can say that I have no life.

I am doing pretty well in all my classes, juggling 20 hours/week at Trader Joes and 10+hours of office work as an ARD. This is truly a defining moment in my life. I initially applied for my credentials this October which I decided to put off until the fall of next year. That is when I will finally graduate from North Central University. I am way too busy and have so much on my plate this semester that I found it extremely hard to study for the testing and go through the credentialing process. So I decided that next fall will be a better time in my life. Plus, I don’t know if I want to stick with the Assemblies. I know big shocker right? I will probably end up siding with them because they are so awesome.

Some recent events happening would include the “Soktoberfest” festival we put on for the RAs. Yeah it was named after me. I was a little embarrassed but everyone enjoyed it. We had polka music in the background and had bottled root beer plus cheese and crackers. This was the after party party of the Shaun McDonald concert that NCU hosted. They also played “Pin the Lederhosen on Sokkha.” So epic. Can you sense the sarcasma?

A few weeks ago I decided that I wanted to buy an HDTV, and so I did. It’s a Sony 40″ Bravia. I also bought a PS3 to compliment it as well. It was pretty cool and not really hard to do because I saved my money to buy those things. Perhaps I should have used the money to pay off my student loans? Oh well, whats done is done, and no turning back. I am definitely enjoying the blu-ray experience.

There have been many other adventures this semester that I won’t go into detail, but I will also mention that we had a spectacular Fall Retreat, and looking forward to Thanksgiving Dinner in my apartment. This is where I invite the whole campus who isn’t going home to celebrate in my apartment. I am looking at 4-5 people right now. Last year there was a total of 19 people that came. Too bad I bought a 13 1/2 lb. turkey not a 27 lber like i did last year. Well I will also say that I won’t be home for thanksgiving (obviously) and won’t be home for Christmas. Any sort of company would be appreciated. Well that’s all I got for you guys. Thanks for reading!

A new wave is coming…

Yes, Already a little over a week into training and seeing student leaders come one by one is rather exhilarating. The time is getting close to where the new students are coming and there will be an increase of excitement. By the way, welcome week is happening in just a couple more days. Right now I am seeing 30 Orientation leaders outside the office working and making a ton of noise creating their lab posters just outside of my office. There is definitely a lot of energy in anticipating the new students arrival. Yet, there is still a lot of work that needs to be done.

This last weekend was amazing! We went to William O’brien state park. While getting to know the new RAs, I got an opportunity to hang out with my particular RA team. There are so talented yet, are very different. A highlight would be that one of my RAs (proud to say) lit his fart on fire around the campfire. Sure I have seen youtube videos on this kind of stuff, but never in real life. It was surreal, and we asked him to do it a second time and it worked again! Of course, Ali, one of my RAs was sitting next to him as he was picking up his legs while putting his lighter to his rear and waiting for that every so malignant discharge. She was disgusted to say the least. While everyone is ROFL (rolling on the ground laughing, for you Quiana), she was silently appalled. But hey, this was team time! We also spent the rest of the time quoting dumb and dumber and also Nacho Libre.

Now the Res. Life (all RAs, DAs, ARDs) is back to normal life and we started to connect with the rest of the student leadership of the school. It is great to see that there are 200 student leaders here at NCU. We really do care about our school and want to make sure the new freshman who are coming this Saturday to feel welcome.

Right now, I am good, I got an opportunity to lead the campfire service with the other 3 ARDs and it was a really powerful time. I think we did a great job. Tomorrow I am leading devotions for my in-hall. This is my RA team. I think I will be reading, “You are Special” by Max Lucado. I was stressing for hours on what I was going to be talking about since it was spurred on me last second. Now I have a plan and I have peace about this. Another thing I will be doing is leading devotions for the new freshman with my ARD counterpart from PHilipps Hall, Brittany. I think we will do pretty well. Definitely looking forward to that!

God is really doing great things at this school. I am so blessed to be a part of what is going to happen in the life of NCU and looking forward to this 2009/2010 school year! Until next time!

Home sweet Home + 20 mile bike ride=Good times

I never thought I would say this, but I missed Minneapolis more than I thought i did. The weather, the scenery, the lakes.. well maybe not the scenery. It is actually pretty ghetto scenery. At least compared to Pittsburgh. Nonetheless, I am happy to hear fire trucks a 2am, and fighting from my neighbors across the street. I know, Its disgusting, its unsafe, and its an adventure living here in Minneapolis. I do not not think the suburbs are good for me. It was too quiet. While I had a tremendous experience at Allison Park Church in Pennsylvania, I really missed here. I really do need to be in an environment that challenges me spiritually and socially. I am surrounded by a variety of people!

I started working at Trader Joes again 3 days after i drove into Minneapolis. Talk about not taking a break. I arrived here about 8:30 Sunday night after a 15+ hour drive. Then I woke up early on Monday morning and reapplied for my job. They asked me when I would like to start.

I asked, “What about Wednesday?”
“Sweet,” Jeff (2nd Mate) replied with.
“Cool”
“See you Wednesday!”

So I used some of the day on Tuesday to move my clothes in. Yup, that’s all I had to move in. There were 3 girls this summer subleasing my apartment, and I provided them with all the furniture they needed. So moving in was really easy since I only had 2 boxes and 2 suitcases to move in.
Upon moving in my roommates for the 2009/2010 school had already moved in, and the apartment was a little chaotic. It took us a couple of days to sort out stuff, but things are looking better and better each day. I think I have two pretty tremendous roommates if you ask me. These two are very nice guys who are very flexible. I am pretty excited to have them living with me. Also the $86.00/month rent for me is pretty nice too!

Starting my first day at Trader Joes was a little challenging. I rode my bike to work which is a little over 6 miles, and I was in a hurry because I forgot how long it normally takes me to ride to work. So i was booking it pretty hardcore. I came to work 2 minutes before I was supposed to clock in. Sweat dripping down my face and neck, clocked in on time, then off to work I go. Yes, I brought deodorant and an extra change of clothes.

While working, I wanted to do as much of the loading and breaking down pallets as I could possibly do. I wanted to work. I wanted to build my strength again. I worked in the wine room break down wine boxes and restocking the shelves. While doing this, I didn’t remember how heavy these boxes were. Each wine case is approximately 38lbs each and after 4-5 cases, I started to feel tired. Wow I was really out of work shape. I used to break down 70-80 boxes in an hour or two, but this time it was tough.

Today I got an opportunity to ride my bike around Minneapolis. Minneapolis for your information is a very flat and it was a good ride. My roommate and I rode around 3 different lakes and it was so beautiful. Weather temperature was 80 a little windy and we mostly rode under the shade. Okay, that sounded a little romantic, but.. It was awesome! . All in all for the day we covered a little under 20 miles, and it really didn’t feel like it. We started earlier in the morning and got some coffee and just coasted. Of course, my knees feel a little jellowy. But hey, I need to get them strong for future bike rides.

This past week was a good week. A week I got to earn a little more money than what I was making at my internship. I got to reconnect with my friends, and got to relax a little. Washington will always be my home, but for now I am going to enjoy Minneapolis for as much as I can.

Church Plant Tour, Subway, James 1, Fettuccine Alfredo, North Park Lounge, Last Day, APC

I cannot believe this is it. The last day of my internship. Let me preface by saying that I will not be driving out until Sunday morning, but this is my last day in the office. I has not quite hit me yet, but looking at my last paycheck, the thought and the feelings of never being here on the internship staff is starting to sink in. The faces that I have made smile and have frustrated are no longer going to be in my every day life. Yes, I do frustrate people. hahaha. It is usually for a short period of time and it is usually after I sing one of America’s top 50 hits, or something to that magnitude. It could also be that I replace worship songs with the person’s name instead of God’s or Jesus’ name. Maybe it could be that my I am not arguing with my cubicle buddy (who jetted out yesterday) about certain issues of the church or theology for everyone else to hear? Through all of this, I hope I did bring more smiles than eye rolling. Knowing me, it was probably 50/50.

This past week was a great week. I really did not get to do much. I did however caught up on some of the reading for my internship. I have a paper due very soon. I will probably get it done sometime in the next month. I feel like I have it easy compared to the other interns as far as internship workload is concerned. Jason stayed up all weekend to his 40 page journal and log for his internship this past weekend. I just have to write a 3 page mid semester report, a 3-5 page final report and a 2-3 page book review. Yeah, I know I got it good.

On Monday, we took a tour of the church plants and got an opportunity to hang out with some of the Pastors. Brian Bolt is just something else. Sorry I had to insert that. It was a great time. The only negative side I experience is that we spent a lot of time in the van with no air conditioning. I was in the all guys vans, so you could imagine some of them having to take off some layers. Seeing some of the bigger guys with their white tank tops aka “wife beater” was something that flickr shouldn’t host.

Later that night some of the interns set up a party for us at Nick’s (Intern supervisor) House. We just had a really chill time and getting to know the other young adults a little more, but only to leave them a few days later. Why do we do this? Getting to know people and recognizing that the time we have together is going to be cut short?

On Tuesday, We had our Q&A with the pastors and I asked my questions. It was followed by cake reception for the interns. It was a time where the Pastors could appreciate us and give us some love. Followed by the reception a very nice lady from the church delivered us sub-sandwiches for lunch. She was incredible. She gave me whole wheat bread sub even when I told her to get everyone white. She is such an amazing person. She even brought these peanut butter, chocolate rice crispy bar things. Wow.. what a blessing.

I also got an opportunity to share with the young adults in the same evening what has been laid on my heart a couple of weeks ago. I was speaking to them about defining moments in our lives and that we are all in different areas in our lives and no matter how good or how bad, we need to continue to pursue God because he has a bigger picture that we may not see. That God wants us to go through the mundane and the monotonous things in our lives to help us to where we need to be.

The night was topped off with fettuccine alfredo cooked by Brooke, who is one of the young adults here. The meal was so great and the combination of artichoke hearts and soft moist chicken mixed in with the noodles and sauce lead to a marriage proposal from me. That’s probably something that she will remember.. or.. try to forget.

I left that night with plenty of hugs and love. I will definitely miss the young adults. They were so amazing. Apparently I have to be there for Saturday night service because it is my last day in Allison Park.

Last night was a great night as well. Got a chance to visit the Youth and say one last goodbye to them and also headed up the road to the main church for “worship night.” As I was thinking the night was going to be over a few people wanted to head out to North Park Lounge to enjoy some good hangout and food for a good cost.

Ron and I rode together in the same car and we had our last good “man talk” until 1:15am.

Now I am here in the office.. Just blogging and getting my last hangout time with the people who I make smile and the people I frustrate. If you forgot why I do these things, read above. APC has offered me an incredible experience her as an intern. I know I will be back to visit because this church is such an amazing church with amazing leaders. It will always be a home for me. I will always have a place to stay when I visit and people to love me.

Philippians 1:6

I have been thinking lately why I exist. What on earth am I here for? Before you read any further, this isn’t a Rick Warren, “Purpose Driven Life” type of post. I don’t know, it may end up being something along those lines. I promise, I will try my hardest to not go there.

What makes me want to get up every morning and endure another hard days worth of work? What keeps me focused on the path that I am taking. There are 1000s of reasons why. Well according to my cost of education, there is approximately 80,000 reasons why I should continue on this journey. What journey is Sokkha on, you might think?

Well most of you know I am going to school, studying to be a full-time pastor. Some day I hope to be part of a church. As a refresher, I am currently doing my internship in Allison Park Church here near Pittsburgh, PA. Now I got that established.

My journey has led me into many different directions. How do I know if I am on the right path? Is it any different from any of the other paths I have taken only to realize later that wasn’t the correct path? How do I discern that this is the will of God?

A few years ago, I made up my own mission statement. My own “guide” if you will. While God and the Holy Spirit play significant roles in the direction of my life, I decided to make a mission statement on why I exist. I wanted to state what matters the most to me, and what i find as extremely important. I wanted it to be short and straight to the point. After all, most churches and businesses have a mission statement. It is their statement on why they exist.

As a pastor, I will be entrusted with many responsibilities and duties. I will be involved in weekly preaching, staff meetings, counseling sessions, and working with a staff. The list just goes on. While these things define the roles of the pastor, It is not the title “Pastor” that defines who I am. What defines me is my mission. It is how I took hold of that mission and ask God for help with it. It has been been a part of me for many years and until 3 years ago, I could never put it into words. Then at a retreat, it came to me. It is in ten simple words: “To Live Boldly For Christ, and Bring Value to people”. This statement to me is my caffeine in the morning. It is the yolk of my eggs. This is the butter of my bread. It is the rice with my vegetables. (okay the last one was reaching).

Simple, yet profound. At least in my eyes. When people ask me what is my mission. They are these 10 words. 10 words that keep me from going dry. 10 words that keep me from quitting. 10 words that add fuel to my fire. 10 words that wake me up at night.

As imperfect and as flawed as I am, I want people to see Christ through me. I want to live a life that is pleasing to God, I want people to know that I serve Him. Not just to serve him, but I also want to serve others. I want to bring value to people who have no hope, but sharing to them that Christ is the answer. I want to let them know that there is value in their lives. I want to bring as many people to Christ as I can before I die.

I don’t want to be distant, I want to be close. If I am distant, How will touch that person who needs healing? How will I connect to them? i want to get dirty with them and not be worried about what others may think. Why does this very thing scare so many Christians?

Where is your journey taking you? While I do not know where my journey is taking me in the next one to two years. I know I have all the resources that I need to make the next step a successful one. It is easy to be a spectator and watch world missions videos in the Sunday morning service and see what God is doing. It is easy to give money to missions. What’s holding you back from becoming the mission?

Phil. 1:6 “being confident in this that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus”

5K run, picnic, and other anomalies

It seems like I haven’t blogged in a while. Just letting you all know that I am going into my last two weeks of my internship here at Allison Park Church. I am going to lie if I told you that I won’t miss it here. There are many things that I will miss here, but all things must come to an end eventually.

This last weekend we had the MPACT weekend that APC sponsored and it was quite the success. There was a lot going on in the life of APC. So many people were involved. We had the 5K run, the Millvale community out reach, the all church picnic, and mcm pastor’s picnic.

I headed up the inaugural 5K run for APC’s “RUN for the One” where we had about 100 runners and raised over one thousand dollars for the Network of Hope Food bank. All proceeds go to raising money for a food bank truck. They are in dire need of a truck, because their current one is on its last leg. I have been working non-stop on this event for the last two months and it has been the source of my stresses for so long. Once I released the runners for the 5K run, I felt the weight of the world fall off my shoulders. I became a little emotional because it all came together and better than I expected. Thank you JESUS!

I also helped out Jason with the All church picnic in setup and tear down. That was a huge success as well. During the picnic I got an opportunity to serve specialty drink for the new converts to APC. There were 80 or so invites but only a few came to take advantage of an iced coffee drink or an Italian soda.

Monday was my day off where I did a little exploring. I drove up to Cranberry TWP to find a place to have lunch. Cranberry is a small booming town with a lot happening there. They also have a Krispy Kreme! The first thing on my mind was to go find some Thai food. I drove and drove and could not find any Thai restaurants. This was disappointing. I did find an A&W, which was pretty exciting. I haven’t had A&W for a few years. So the sense of nostalgia took over and I went and got some. I walked in there and it was a shared place with a LONG JOHN SILVERS. That was a little weird, but nonetheless I enjoyed the burger and especially the unlimited A&W root beer on tap. That was amazing! Nothing like it root beer in a frosty mug. Then of course after my lunch I went and got a dozen krispy kreme glazed donuts. It was a good day.

While driving on the way back from Cranberry, I saw a Thai restaurant and was a little disappointed that I didn’t spot it earlier on the drive up. So I took a glazed Krispy Kreme Doughnut and felt much better! Life is good!

Running total of hours worked: 580.5 (10 weeks)