by Anonymous

I was reviewing the “5 Love Languages” with my spouse and came upon ‘Words of Affirmation.’ I asked, “With all the things I’ve done for church, how come you haven’t once praised me? Encouraged me? Or even as little as acknowledged me?”

The answer was…”You do too much. You’re always on the phone, always on your laptop, always going to meetings.” These weren’t accusatory or resentful words but words of pain.

Then it struck me. I can easily proclaim I’m not a workaholic in the traditional Silicon Valley sense. Instead, I was clever enough to fulfill my personal enjoyment and ambition by replacing it with something where my spouse or kids cannot complain about. Any complaints would be complaining about “God’s work” and be deemed blasphemous.

Work… sexual immorality… alcohol… drugs… gambling… Korean soap operas…put in any vice you want ahead of the suffix “-aholic.” And we can all nod and say, “Phew… that’s not me.” But who would think something as holy and sanctimonious as “church” can be used to drive a wedge into the very relationship it forms.

Praise God for this wake-up call.

By Rachel Lee

Exactly 34 years ago, my mom got baptized here and became a member of SJCAC. As a fourteen year old, I am here today following in her same footsteps. As Psalm 78:6 says, ”So the next generation would know them, even the children yet to be born, and they in turn would tell their children.” Like a lot of people, I accepted Christ at VBS multiple times when I was young but never really understood the meaning of dedicating one’s life to follow Christ. I was born into a Christian family, so I was surrounded by faith in God modeled for me by those around me at SJCAC and New Vine. However, my journey of faith had its struggles, as I was always scared and unsure about myself. “Was that God speaking to me or was I just imagining it?” “How come God is speaking to other people but not me?” Read more →

By Michelle Chew        

I went into the Winter Retreat with expectation. I wasn’t sure what exactly I wanted, I just knew I wanted something and I did receive. On Sunday night, while we were worshiping, the Holy Spirit just fell on us during worship. I don’t even know how to describe what I was feeling at the time, but I could not stop crying and crying; just thinking back to it would bring back tears. All I knew in that moment was that I never wanted to leave, and I never wanted to go back to how things were before. When I was kneeling on the floor crying, I remember myself asking, “Why can’t it be like this all the time?” and “Why can’t I experience God like this every day of my life?” I realized that part of the reason why we experienced God so powerfully was because we were dedicating our time at Lake Tahoe to Him. Read more →

By Qian Wang

I am learning about what it looks like to trust God and what it feels like to put my trust completely in Him.

Learning to be present in the experiences and to feel the emotions. Being there to experience heartache and brokenness and seeing that the world cannot fix me. Being of the world will not fix me or bring me anywhere close to wholeness.

I am learning how much I need God and how good that is. I am learning how good our God is and how much He can pull you through. I am learning to trust and surrender, knowing that it will all be okay. Read more →