Above All.

Isn't it just an amazing feeling knowing that someone will be with you through any trials/struggles in life, through good and bad, and always be on your side? Well God is always with you. No matter if you make mistakes in life or sin, he will always forgive you and embrace you with open arms as long as you ask for his forgiveness. Even if you go down the wrong path or make a wrong choice, he will always give you oppurtunities and chances to come back onto the right path. I usually end with a song you guys can look up on youtube but i'll just say it now and you guys and girls can listen to it while reading this: Michael W. Smith - Above All. These lyrics are just powerful. The chorus is what i want to focus on the most though. "Crucified, laid behind a stone. You lived to die, rejected and alone. Like a rose, trampled on the ground; You took the fall, and thought of me, above all. Jesus was crucified on the cross and laid behind a stone so our sins will be forgiven. When he first came into this world, he knew he was going to die soon enough and the pharisees turned the people against Jesus leaving him rejected and alone by man. Like a rose trampled on the ground is a metaphor. He was beaten down and bloodied up and was too severely wounded to lift himself up completely. He took all our sin and shame when he was on that cross, so we can be covered in his blood so God will always forgive us no matter what sin we commit as long as we ask for forgiveness. While waiting to die on the cross, Jesus thought of the very people that were mislead to believe that he was bad, and asked God to forgive them because they know not what they do. Finally, above all this pain and suffering he went through for us, he thought of you above everything else. I'm still in awe of it. But i didn't write this blog trying to make it sad, so i'll get to what's on my mind. Because Jesus went through so much so we can be forgiven for our sins, it really should make us re-evaluate the way we are living our lives. I'm not saying we should be perfect and never sin, because only Jesus could and did that. But i believe we as christians need to live our life fully for God so when we go to heaven we can say that we did the best we could to bring people to know him. I was watching Coach Carter the other day and they had a very interesting quote:
"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.
Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.
It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us.
Your playing small does not serve the world.
There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you.
We are all meant to shine as children do.
It's not just in some of us, it's in everyone.
And as we let our own lights shine, We unconsciously give other people permission to do the same.
As we are liberated from our own fear, Our presence automatically liberates others."
A quick summary of this is really just be the best you can be. Don't be afraid to do something because you are afraid to fail and that you think people won't think you are good enough afterwards. God will always love you even in succession or failure. Just the fact that you tried your best is what God is looking for. So if we try new thing and people see that we fail but as christians we know God is still proud because we tried our best, they may start trying new things also and if they fail, be okay with it because they know they tried their hardest. It is also vice-versa for succession. Now this quote can be translated in many different ways, but i feel that when i was watching it, God put this certain situation in my head. But forsure there are many more different ways to translate it for different situations. So yeah thanks for reading.


-Paul Lem.

Humility.

Today in church, guest speaker Pastor Chris gave a sermon about humility. About how Moses was used not when he was in his prime age, but when he became humble at the age of 80 leading about 2 million people. That's just incredible to know that God can use anyone no matter how old you are, how big/tall you are, or how much abilities you may have. It's hard because my whole life i did grow up with a competitive strive in basically everything i did. I try my hardest to be humble and learn humility because i know that God will only bless me and use me with a certain ability if i can humble myself and not take the glory away from him. So it is still a work in progress for me, but i am slowly learning to be more patient and humble. God gives everyone different abilities, and no one has all abilities that was on earth except Jesus. So as our relationship with God grows stronger, we will learn all the abilities that he has given us and start putting them to use for his glory. And today i went early to church so i could catch up and talk with Jundo and finally got it set that i am going back to Dominican Republic this summer for missions. It's a good feeling because i was wanting to go back for so long, and now i finally get to. So these next few months are all fundraisers, planning stuff, and just getting my spiritual walk ready for all the new things God is going to teach me through this mission trip. So i'll leave you guys and girls with this song and you can look it up on youtube: Avalon - Everything To Me. Thanks for reading.


-Paul Lem.

Jesus, take the wheel.

In life, we always do what we need to, to get to where we want to go. We do the best we can in school, study hard, so we can get into a certain college of our choice so it will benefit us with our future job. We say that we trust God and that we will follow his plan, but when his plan is something different than what we want, we take the wheel and drive the direction we want to. Of course i'm like this at times too, but i try really hard now to just sit in the passenger seat and let Jesus take the wheel and guide me the way He wants me to go in life. I'm not saying we don't have a choice in what we want to do in life, because God gives us choices and it's what we choice that decide what kind of person we become in the future. Looking back in life, when i knew God wanted me to do a certain thing, but i wanted to do something else, it was a really hard journey. For example, i remember my pastor telling me that i shouldn't go out with this one girl, but i guess i wanted to go out with her. So i just totally disregarded what my pastor told me and still went out with her, oh boy was that a big mistake haha. There was just struggle after struggle, arguement after arguement, and honestly i knew it was because it just wasn't really supposed to even happen. I mean i can't say that it's a hard journey all the time because for some people it might be a different story, but for me it's that way most of the time. So i'll leave you guys and girls with two songs you can look up on youtube: Carrie Underwood - Jesus, Take the wheel and also Proto J - Closer To You. Thanks for reading.


-Paul Lem.

DR '09.

Dominican Republic Missions 2008 was just amazing. The experience there was eye-opening, and i was going there hoping to bless the children by teaching them God's love but in return i was blessed through it. I really want to go back this year to Dominican Republic, even if my church decides not to, i guess i will have to find some other way. There was a boy that became my friend there and his name was Michael. He was really young, and even though we couldnt really communicate well because of the language barrier, we still connected through God. He asked me if i was going to come back and I made a promise to him that i would come back forsure. It may seem like something little to all of you reading, but to me and him it was a promise that both of us wanted to happen. Sure the air was so humid and hot and the bathrooms were just horrible and smelly, but i would go through that for as long as i have to if i were doing it for God. All those small troubles go away and it's just such a blessing to be a part of it. I love the people of Dominican Republic. They may have way less than we do in the US, but they never complain and praise God for the little stuff they have. This all just came into my mind because since now i'm in the college ministry and the youth group is really in charge of the whole mission and who gets to go, i don't want to miss out on the oppurtunity to go. I made two promises that i intend to keep. The first one i made a promise to my friend Michael from Dominican Republic that i'll come back and the second one was a promise to God that i want to help people come to know Him and i'm willing to do whatever he wants me to. So i'll keep you guys and girls updated on this whole situation. Here's a song you can look up on youtube: 3 Doors Down - Let me be myself and also The Fray - You Found Me. I hope you enjoy it, and thanks for reading.


-Paul Lem.

I give you what you NEED, not what you WANT.

So today was a good/bad day. The bad part of my day was i guess my parents got into a fight last night and my uncle and cousin are here visiting from korea. So my brother and i have been showing them around and taking them places to see. But when i came home after class, i could tell the vibe was still there because when my dad came home he just went straight upstairs. So i just sat eating dinner and i hate it when my parents get into arguements and the next thing i hear is just doors slamming and all these loud noises because they were frustrated at each other and just pushing stuff onto the floor in separate rooms. So i just decided to go do my QT's and i guess just pray for them to forgive each other quickly. I read Psalms 34:4,6 which both talk about how David was praying to God when he was desperate, how the Lord listened, and how He took all David's troubles away. So i was just writing how i wish God can just hurry and let my parents forgive each other because them fighting affects the whole family really. Than after i finished my QT, i felt i still needed to spend more time so i started looking back at my recent entries. I noticed that i always prayed for stuff that i wanted in life. I would always talk about me, me, me and spend maybe a sentence or two only on someone else for a prayer request. Than for some reason i guess it was God saying to me: "Paul, I give you what you need, not what you want." At first i just shook it off because i just thought it was like my conscience telling me how selfish i sound in my recent entries, but that line kept coming and repeating in my mind. I realized that God gives me what i need in life, not the stuff that i want. Of course He will still listen and give me what's best for me, but if something i want is not what's best, than he will not give it and i need to know He's doing that for me. That wasn't really what i was expecting in an answer from God, haha but he always has a sense of humor with me. The good part of my day was i got an A on a test in my sociology class that was supposed to be the hardest test of the semester. I was so proud of myself because i studied so hard for that, and than when i came home i couldnt really tell anyone about it because everyone was just in a bad mood. But i realized that i don't need to. God is the one that congratulates me for my work and just as long as i try my best, he will always be proud of me and that's more than enough for me. Also in my journal where i do my QTs, there is always a famous line that has been said before and this one said, "Be careful how you live. You may be the only Bible some person ever reads." That also made me think about how im actually presenting myself whenever i'm out and how i act when people know that i am a Christian. Sorry for the long entry, but i had a lot on my mind today so just wanted to write it down somewhere. So i'll leave you guys and girls with this song and you can look it up on youtube and listen to the lyrics: Hillsongs - Desert Song. Thanks for reading.


-Paul Lem.

You know when something's worth it, when you have to work for it.

In life there are times when something will come easily and when you got to work hard for it. The ones that come so easily don't really give you the satisfaction as the ones you have to work hard for. This applies to anything in life such as: girlfriend/boyfriend, grades, getting a good job, surrounding yourself with good friends, and so on. The amount of effort you put into it really shows because you are willing to work hard for that certain thing. I remember in the past, everyone including me forsure, tried raising my social status as much as i could by meeting new people all the time, going out to just be seen so people will know who i am, and etc. But i realized that it's all really useless. That high school fame that you have will die out soon once you go to college because you separate from all the people that know you and than you try to raise your social status again in college and that will eventually die out when you graduate so it's really just a cycle. So basically during my junior year in high school, i just gave up the fact of it because i realized it's pointless. I don't need to be known by everyone in the world because honestly what is that going to matter in the future? All i need is to stay strong in God and know that he will send people that will help me in the future and help me stay strong, leading me to a better future. There are going to be times in my life where i will come upon people that will impact my life and i'll know when i get to know them and talk and hang out. It's basically all the people you meet while building up your social status, they are all just aquatinces that i just say hey to whenever i would randomly see them. That's fine and all but they really have no other meaning in your life. For working hard and studying hard to get a certain grade in a class it's the same thing. There may be someone that never studies or tries hard but still will get a A+ in the class and if you study hard and you end up with a B- or so, i say that B- is way more meaningful to the person that achieved it working hard, than the person who got the A+ so easily with no effort necessary. So i'll leave you guys and girls with a song you should listen to on youtube: Nelson - Breathless. Thanks for reading.


-Paul Lem.

Think too much.

Haha i have this problem of over thinking a situation way too much than necessary. It has caused many people in my life pain and i want to apologize for it. It's just how i've grown up in life always thinking of the worst possibilities of a situation and it is a bad habit that i do need to get rid of. But yeah forsure i'm not perfect. Far from it is a good way to describe it, but the only people that actually deserve your time is the people that prove they want to be in your life. Of course this isn't going to mean that i'm not going to ignore everyone who doesnt prove this, because i have to prove it to others also you know? It's just depending on a certain situation i guess like a girlfriend/boyfriend, a spouse, or a significant other if you will. The only way a relationship will work is if you have trust, love, and faith. You are trusting that your partner will be faithful to you and won't do anything to hurt you. You have love for each other because you care so much about the other person and love them more for their faults. You have two types of faith: the first type is being faithful to your partner and the other is having faith in each other completely. Of course you are going to have God's favor but these are the three things that are probably very important in a relationship. There are more important things, but i felt talking about these 3 in particular. So i'll leave you with this quote: "Be who you are, because those who mind don't matter, and those who matter don't mind." Thanks for reading.


-Paul Lem.

Do Over.

If you had a button that will just take you back in time so you can erase a mistake you regret in life and change it, wouldn't that be awesome? haha but too bad there isn't anything like that in the world...lol but i think if it's really meant to be, than there will always be more chances for you. But if you arent allowed that second chance than i guess that means you got to face the fact that it's not supposed to be. The way i view it is that even if i'm not given another chance, i still for some weird reason will lie to myself saying there's still hope. Basically i'm "hoping for the best, but expecting the worst" type of situation really. I'll just straight out admit it right now, i don't know what to do in this situation. I've been in it too many times to recall in the past but i still don't know what to do. So now i'm just going to turn to God and see if it's a for real thing, or if it's not because i tried my best and now its up to God really. So yeah just now that i guess i'm still confused even if i won't admit it at times, because this is js how i've grown up. I can hide my feelings well enough to make it seem like i dont care about that person anymore at all but of course on the inside its a totally different story and a lot of people have this ability. So yeah just wanted to get that off my chest and ill leave this song so u guys and girls can look it up and listen to the lyrics: Lee Carr - Do Over. So yeah, thanks for reading.


-Paul Lem.

Mercy Me - Bring The Rain.

I can count a million times

People asking me how I

Can praise You with all that I've gone through

The question just amazes me

Can circumstances possibly

Change who I forever am in You

Maybe since my life was changed

Long before these rainy days

It's never really ever crossed my mind

To turn my back on you, oh Lord

My only shelter from the storm

But instead I draw closer through these times

So I pray Bring me joy, bring me peace

Bring the chance to be free

Bring me anything that brings You glory

And I know there'll be days

When this life brings me pain

But if that's what it takes to praise You

Jesus, bring the rain

I am Yours regardless of

The dark clouds that may loom above

Because You are much greater than my pain

You who made a way for me

By suffering Your destiny

So tell me what's a little rain

So I pray Holy, holy, holy Is the Lord God Almighty.

The lyrics itself is a full entry for me. So read the lyrics look up the song on youtube and enjoy it because the lyrics are just so strong and powerful. Thanks for reading.

-Paul Lem.

I am who I am.

In life, not everyone is going to like you. There is always going to be that select few that may dislike you because of a certain thing. I believe that society has just been teaching us that to be important or valued in this life you need to be successful. The thing is, everyone is different but still made in God's image. Don't feel you aren't good enough because a couple of people might say you aren't because that's just their opinion. You can't live your life based on what other people think of you because than you will never be happy with yourself because not everyone is going to like you physical appearance or personality. So how you view yourself is what you always need to remind yourself when someone may put you down saying things such as: "You're not good looking", "You're not smart enough", "You're boring and just not fun to be around", etc. These are just a few examples that people may say that may bring you down but don't let it. Luckily, i haven't dealed with these sayings in my life yet but im sure in some point in my life it will occur eventually. But the voice inside of you that says everything about you and what you have is the real you. God gives you that conscience that he made you perfect in his eyes, so remember that. I remember there was this one girl in high school that whenever i saw her and say "hey", she would always reply back "you're ugly paul." haha so i mean of course that got me down but later on when we graduated i found out that it was just her joking around and that she just felt i needed someone to remind me that not everyone that i meet in life will think im good looking. So it was a lesson that i needed to learn and i'm glad she taught me because i know so much about myself and who i am, that i just need to remind myself of this whenever i feel the need to prove myself to anyone. So yeah thanks for reading and until next time.



-Paul Lem.