Reminiscing.

The dictionary definition of reminisce is: to recall past experiences, events, etc.

Everyone in life will always reminisce of past events that occurred in their lives. Big or small memory, a memory is something that is in the back of our mind and we think back to it whenever we feel nostalgic. Reminiscing gives us the opportunity to look back in our own lives and remember events that made us into the person we are today. The time that I reminisce the most, is when I'm lying in bed trying to fall asleep. I'm not the type of person that can fall asleep easily unless I'm really tired, so since I have all that free time a lot of things run through my mind. People always say that "girls think too much", but in reality, guys think just as much as girls do. Thinking is the time God gave us so that we can reminisce back on an event that happened, good or bad, and how it effected the person we became. Usually a person's first thought would be a good memory, because honestly who wants to remember a bad memory that happened in their life? I'm not saying that means that we don't think back on our bad memories because both of them are what really made us into the people we are today. We take what we learn from those experiences and events and keep the lessons learned from them for future situations. We reminisce on many things in life, not only a particular subject. It may range from a life-changing event, to maybe a girl/guy you like. For me personally, when I reminisce I think about all situations. From girls to my future, my past to who I am now, and events in my past that have changed my way of thinking or my life in general. I just got back from a mission trip to Dominican Republic and what a blessing that was. There is always that cliche of what a person's attitude is when they return from a poverty country, of how that person is so grateful of what they have and how they are blessed compared to the other people. Honestly, that's just a feeling many people are going to feel, no matter it being a cliche or not. It was my second time here, and the Dominican Republic and it's people always open my eyes and my mind to a new way of thinking. That feeling of gratefulness and blessing is not a pity feeling, but more of a slap-in-the- face feeling. What i mean by that is the Dominican people may have way less then we do back in the states, but they take what they have and are so happy and praise and thank God for it. It was such a blessing the second time being there, and I know that God is going to do many great things there. Another thing that has been on my mind recently is the simple question of "where the heck is my mind at?". As I said earlier, I am the type of guy that does a lot of thinking before I go to sleep, being either a big or small thing. So since I've been back from DR, I've just been thinking about my life here. I've known this for a long time, but recently it's been hitting me even harder. The fact that I have many emotional scars from the past and how I've been dealing with them my whole life. Throughout my life, I would try to fill that void with many things: girls, popularity, friends, and i realized that every time I did that it never kept me satisfied. God is the only person that can heal and mend my broken heart and emotional scars, and I've rarely given him the chance to mend it all up. For the topic of girls, I've just had way too many situations that were really unnecessary and even though I knew God didn't want me to, I still went and did it. When it comes to my future, there are so many things that I'm unsure about, but I put my trust and faith in God and I know that He will take care of me and let me know what He wants me to do in my life for Him. I let go of my past because I knew it was hindering my relationship with God to grow. The reason for this blog entry is that I want people to know that it's okay to think too much. People say that thinking too much is a problem, but I believe it's okay to a certain extent. I think God made human beings to think too much, because if not, we wouldn't be caring about anything really. People should think out certain situations, but not towards the point where they feel they need to do things to take control and do something about it. God is in control and just as long as we trust in Him, we will be fine. Reminiscing is the time for us to spend with ourselves, thinking back or ahead, on situations and events that we care about. Because in reality, who honestly will think too much about something that they really don't have a care about? The reason we think too much about specific events/people is because we care about that certain person or situation. So I'll leave you guys with a song and you can look it up and listen to the lyrics: Hillsongs - Amazing Love (You are my King).


The lyrics i want you guys and girls to focus on the most is the chorus:

Amazing love, how can it be
that you my King would die for me
Amazing love, I know it’s true
It’s my joy to honor you
In all i do i honor you.


There are many things in life that we think and reminisce on, but one thing that we should always have on our mind and wonder is how our loving Father would send his son to die on the cross for all our sins, just so we can spend eternity with Him. He didn't have to save us, but He loves us so much that He wanted each and everyone one of us to be with Him in Heaven. I hope this blog helped someone out, and thanks for reading.




-Paul Lem.

You can never really prepare yourself for a Miracle.

There are many things in life that we can prepare ourselves for. We can prepare ourselves for a job interview, a date you may be going on later on that day, our future, etc. One thing we can never really prepare for is a miracle. A miracle is something that just happens. The dictionary definition of miracle is: an effect or extraordinary event in the physical world that surpasses all known human or natural powers and is ascribed to a supernatural cause. God creates miracles in our lives, that show us that He is in control and that it is Him and Him alone that controls everything. A miracle is of course a good thing to us, something that makes our lives better in one way or another. I have seen many miracles in my life, including last summer when I went on my first mission trip to Dominican Republic. The miracle that happened there was just an eye-opening blessing to everyone. We came there to teach the kids about God, but we got taught in return with many valuable life lessons. It was a miracle to see how precious God was to them. Even though they had very little possessions, they still thanked God for all they had and kept their relationship with Him strong. The mission trip was a miracle in my eyes, because i saw how God works through all different kinds of people: shy, unprivileged, low self-esteem, beggars, etc. As long as the person was willing to be used for His glory, God used that person to show true love to another unbeliever. Dominican Republic 2008 was a miracle in the sense of how even though we came there expecting the worst, God blew our minds and surpasses our worst thoughts. He showed us how it feels to live outside of our little bubbles, and that was a eye-opener in the sense that we now can appreciate all that God has blessed us with and not take it for granted. The miracles were simply saving people through the mission trip like the Dominican people that came to know God and the missionaries that needed this mission trip to strengthen their relationship with Him. Miracles don't have to be something huge and physically able to see, but it can also be a miracle on the inside. The miracle i felt through that mission trip on the inside was a refreshing new way of thinking, and getting rid of the mind set that could have ruined my future. There is now 5 more days until I am going back to Dominican Republic for another mission trip. I thought that seeing how I had already been there once, I would know exactly what to prepare and expect, but there are only five more days until I leave and I don't know what I'm doing. All I can do is depend on God and just trust in Him and I know that everything is going to be fine. So I am very excited to see what miracle God will show me through this mission trip, because I know that God will be in the midst of our praise and fellowship. Now don't get me wrong, the mission trip is not something that you can just breeze through easily. It takes a toll on you physically, mentally, and spiritually. Many people always wonder why someone would be willing to go through all this hardship, but there is a saying, "Don't let go of something you can't go a day without thinking about." God is someone that I can't go a day without thinking about, because of the fact that He is my everything. Without Him, I'm nothing, but with Him, I can achieve everything. So I am willing to go through whatever I have to, to bring people to know this awesome Savior and Father that sent his only son to die for our sins on the cross. The hardships is nowhere compared to what Jesus Christ had to go through to allow us to live, so isn't that something that would make us want to do anything we can to bring people to know such an amazing person? I remember talking to a girl before and she asked me, "How do I know you're going to do all the things you say for me?" I simply replied, "If it's worth it, I will do anything to have it." Isn't that the mentality everyone has in life that if something is worth all the hardships and trials that we will be willing to go through that to have that thing in the end? Well God is way more then worth it, so I am willing to give my all to live for him. Thanks for reading.




-Paul Lem.