A Week of Encouragements!

When school happens, when mid terms happen, when life happens, and when college hits you square in the face, it is easy to get stressed out and want to lock yourself in a room and refuse to see sunlight. This past week has been pretty stressful with mid terms approaching and papers due. But while 24 hours just seems like too little time, this week was also a week full of encouragement and time well spent.

So for small group, we were suppose to pick someone and hang out with them! I got to spend Sunday afternoon with this wonderful person. I am so glad God gave us the opportunity to talk and share with each other our struggles and prayer request. I didn't realize we were talking for 2 hours straight but it was great!

Nothing like cookies as motivation for finishing a paper. I am so spoiled by such an loving fellowship! Thanks for walking all around school to where we all lived and delivering them! It totally made my night. Crossroads Family!!!

So my roommates had a chem midterm to study for... ahahaha I took this picture post midterm so.... yeah! Roommate encouragements! The three of us were finally home at the same time this past week so we had some time to bond, talk, stalk each other, jam, and just... be weird! 

Secret Santa DORK's Edition! A wonderful person, food, and wonderful conversation. There are no words to describe how kind and awesome you are! Thank you for listening and sharing and just hanging out with me! Super glad God has brought you into my life, fpf, and crossroads! 

There is nothing like boba at 12 at night. Being spontaneous and procrastinating at its best! "Do your friends never sleep?!??!"

YOU! Whoever you are! I am so confused and so wonderfully blessed for everything that you have done. Secrets aren't my thing and this is killing me inside out but it's okay because God is definitely teaching me how to receive and be grateful. l and humbled and truly appreciate all your lovely encouragements so please tell me who you are so I can...*cough* say thank you in person! =) 

I miss my team. I miss seeing them everyday. I was bombarded this week with such encouragements and messages from them even though they are all so far away. It makes me sad sometimes to think about how far we all are from each other but I am so grateful to have had the time I did with you guys in CTI and in Guatemala.  I really miss you guys!!! 

These wonderful faces! Boba and Top Dog and looking for bathrooms. I wish we could have all been in SF and hung out again before you both left for college but that is okay. I am back to being a freshman and you guys are once again seniors. Thank you for coming to Berkeley and getting lost! 

How I have never met you before now is almost incredible. What is even more incredible is the fact that I've literally only've known you for two legit weeks. I didn't have a picture of any of the bajillion times I have seen you this week but I think this does justice for now! Thanks for making me walk all the way to Stern to "get" you, feeding me, telling me to sleep, patting me whenever you feel like I need one or whenever you want to, and thanks for coming to Berkeley! I foresee many more weird things to come out of this! =) 

This week has truly been a week of encouragement from not just the people here with me in college but also from back home and even from far far away. I am in constant awe at how perfect God's timing is. He has blessed me with people beyond my imagination, friends whom literally I have only known for 2 weeks, and brothers and sisters that constantly remind me of how good God is and the love he has for his people. 

- Charlie 

Siblings

Siblings... people that you didn't get to pick to love. It is interesting sometimes when people find out that I have siblings. Either they are amazed at how much we resemble each other or at the fact that they even existed. Maybe it is because I don't talk about them much, or maybe it is because I am too embarrassing as a sister and they don't want to be associated with me....eh! Regardless of that, I will continue to be that embarrassing sister and dedicate today's blog to my two awesome younger siblings. (College has this weird thing where it makes you miss and appreciate your siblings more when you aren't constantly with them.) 

So what better way to talk about my siblings than in picture form! 

This is the most recent picture we have together. If you can't tell, I am the oldest one in case my height didn't already give that away. Both my siblings are sportier and more creative than I. 

Both my siblings also have a funnier sense of humor than me... be it in a dark and nonchalant way or in a weird middle school dramatic way. They are also good at everything I am not. (Math, Science, Art,...Penmanship...) 

The backstory to this is that we wanted a decent picture for mother's day. Don't worry, we don't normally look this happy together... or smile like that all the time. #SIBLINGSELFIE

Unintentional matching. One day my mom just wanted a picture of us so we all came out of our rooms and took this picture. Notice the height difference. This was in 2012. 

The cutest of them all! This is before we realized how weird we were. Clearly now, I hope you can tell I am the eldest. And yes, I know, chubby cheeks run in the family. 

So this concludes a backward timeline of my siblings. Don't worry, we aren't normally this cute and arguably so, we don't look so cute anymore. But! I still love them in the most non emotional older sister way. Nothing beats learning to love people you are forced to call family! =) 

-Charlie 

You know you are old when your own siblings come to you for life advice and help on personal statements... 

Crossroads, Chalkboards, Crossroads

Three things:
1. Crossroads
2. Chalkboards
3. Crossroads

1. Crossroads... the name of my dining common but also and more importantly, the name of the fellowship that I have come to love and appreciate. In the span of the month that I have been at Berkeley, I have met some of the most loving, selfless, artistic, wise, and outgoing people. I am continually humbled by how generous they are to opening their homes and sharing their time to reach out to the freshman class. I am also blessed with meeting some of the most bizarre but also some of the most genuinely cool people.  Don't worry, there will be more stories about these wonderful people in the future.

2. Chalkboards... I really like chalkboards. There is just something about it that makes studying all the more fun and exciting. Needless to say, when I found out that there are chalkboards where I live, I went a little crazy. I have a new found love for chalkboards and a new found motivation to study and do homework!

3. Crossroads... the dining common. It is almost as if Berkeley knows that their students aren't going to eat until late at night and that all of them would be craving something either sweet or fried. I am a fan of the latter. Crossroads has a thing called Late Night which is what it sounds like... food... late at night. It is the best and the worst. The only way to describe it is through a picture...

College is fun, especially when you have the right company and of course, food. 

-Charlie 

Photo Credit to Jason and Ryan! 

A Love like this the World had Never Known

You came down from heaven's throne
This earth you formed was not your home
A love like this the world had never known

A crown of thorns to mock your name
Forgiveness fell upon your face
A love like this the world had never known

On the altar of our praise let there be no higher name
Jesus son of God
You laid down your perfect life
You are the sacrifice
Jesus Son of God
You are Jesus Son of God

You took our sin
You bore our shame
You rose to life
You defeated the grave
Love like this the world has never known

Be lifted higher than all You've overcome
Your name be louder than any other song
There is no power that can come against your love

The cross was enough

Jesus Son of God- Chris Tomlin

This song was on my rep to Guatemala over the summer. When we were asked to share our testimonies and link it also to a song, this was the song that I picked. The one line that stuck out to me the most and repeatedly throughout the summer was "A love like this, the world had never known." This love is the love of God who sent his son to redeem the world while the world was broken and sinful. In fact, the Bible says that no one was good, not even one (Romans 3:10-12) but WHILE we were still sinners, Christ came and died for us, his people, his children (Romans 5:8). There comes a point of realization that we are a broken people. I am definitely a broken person. I don't deserve any of that love. No logic or law can justify any outcome of my life other than death. Who I am that a God would love and not only love but save. This is also what I came to understand, that being a Christian isn't about me. In fact, being a christian is first understanding how broken and in need I am of grace and mercy. Being a christians means knowing that I deserve nothing but for some extraordinary reason, God beyond all my understanding, still loves me. It blows my mind everyday that a God, a God who created the universe and made everything perfect, would look at me, small and insignificant and say, " I love you." 

-Charlie 

Late Night Series: A Little Boy in a Costume

In the midst of danger, the last thing you expect
is a little boy in a costume.
But who else is going to stand up against
the monster right in front of you?
You see, we were all once that kid,
big dreams and impossible wishes.
We're just taller now, bigger now,
looking for "big kid" missions.

Age is just a number.
10, 20, 30, 100
The dreams we dreamed...
are all still valid.
Who is to say that you are too old
to  "change the world"
In fact, my friend
I challenge you to be bold!

Life is but a short few years
I have no way of knowing what tomorrow will bring.
But not knowing shouldn't be an excuse
You won't know you can fly until you finally use your wings.

It might be hard,
"I am only ten years old" you say.
What does the world need
from a boy who just wants to play
Other will say, "I am too old.
My time is over"
But sir, you are still very able. Share your stories and trails
with those just a couple years younger.

We might never find ourselves
anywhere near changing the world.
Our dreams and aspirations
might seem too extreme, too crazy to even be told.
So we just sit back, relax, and wait
for someone else to come along.
Someone else to "do to the impossible"
Someone else to prove us wrong.

You don't need to know how to climb up walls
or fly through galaxies.
Superheroes are characters in comics
that reflect the people we want to be
You see, changing the world
doesn't always have to be grand and extraordinary
It can be as simple as inspiration, compassion,
encouragement, or love for the ordinary.


So this is what happens when I am bored at night and homework takes just way too much effort. AHAHA I decide to write a cheezy poem inspired by a movie, a sermon, and a friend. I hope you guys enjoy. I have officially... 5 seconds ago started the Late Night Series which will be my attempts to write late at night. If you guys want something more substantial and epic, check out Phil Kaye and Sarah Kay, spoken word poets. They are pretty awesome!

Good Night!
-Charlie

5 Day Positive/Thankful Challenge

So three days ago, my friend challenged me or tagged me if you will, to do this 5 day positive challenge. The rules are simple... for the next 5 days, share with the world three things you are thankful for. This challenge is starting to get popular on facebook and is brings a different dynamic to the pictures and posts you typically see on facebook. Being thankful for what you have is a very good thing, so why do people need to be challenged to be thankful or positive for that matter???

Being positive and thankful seem like a really hard thing to do. We have to be constantly reminded to say "thank you" or to look at the brighter side of things. We are told to not complain and just be grateful. Sometimes it seems really difficult to be positive and thankful when nothing seems to be going your way. In fact, I found it difficult to list three things I was thankful for last night and that made me question myself. I had to force myself to stop and reflect. I started to list a bunch of things and continued to cross them out if they weren't "big enough" to share. I totally missed the point of the challenge and just turned something that was intended to be reflective and encouraging into something fabricated and self-serving.

Often times, we feel that in order to get people to listen to hear what we have to say, we need a "big" story. We need something that will get their attention and tug at their emotions. But that isn't always the case. Our lives are not like movies with crazy plots, heroes and heroines.  Our lives are probably not as epic as that and that's okay! We look so far out to find crazy extreme unique stories that we forget to pay attention to the little things in life. We are so focused on trying to get to class in time that we forget to say thank you when someone opens the door for you, or we are so focused on ourselves that forget the people we meet along the way to where we want to go. So I want to encourage you all to look up from yourself and look around you. Don't look for something but just observe the things right in front of you. Look at what you have and be thankful. I believe there is always something to be thankful for. Be it amazing friends, great conversations, a good experience,quiet time, a good lunch, or even just being able to wake up in the morning and start a new day, there is always something to be grateful for. So SMILE and keep pushing through and don't forget to always count your blessings.

-Charlie

Smile. Be positive. Be thankful.