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YWAM Reflections

Thursday July 26th, 2018
26 Jul 2018

By Leonora Taylor

Last October a small group of us took a field trip to YWAM San Francisco. After touring the facilities and the area, we knew that this was something we wanted to do. We wanted to bring children and their parents on a missions trip to the Tenderloin district. Our desire was to cultivate a worldview of God’s heart for people within the hearts of these children. This would be the first time we would take children as young as 5 years old on a missions trip. Read more →

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A Child of God

Wednesday July 18th, 2018
18 Jul 2018

By Peter Chow

WHO THE SON SETS FREE
OH IS FREE INDEED
I AM A CHILD OF GOD
YES I AM
IN MY FATHER’S HOUSE
THERE’S A PLACE FOR ME

Kate Spade…Anthony Bourdain….they seemed to have it all. Fame, riches, luxurious lifestyles…they have achieved everything they can get in life – so it seems. Even with all these achievements, both of them decided that life was not worth living anymore. Both died of suicide – most probably due to depression. How can someone who seemingly has so much and is looked upon as a gold standard in their industry not be satisfied with what they have? To the point that they would rather not live anymore? Read more →

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Churchaholic

Wednesday July 11th, 2018
11 Jul 2018


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.

in Life Journey /by

God Answers My Prayers

Thursday July 5th, 2018
05 Jul 2018

My son lives about an hours plane ride from home. He shares a room with another college student from England. One night, after 10:00PM, he called me and cried over the phone, “Mom, I am feeling so sad right now.” I was so worried and asked what was bothering him. He said, “I have everything I need. I have good grades, good food and I have friends but somehow I still feel sad.” I asked him if he liked what he was studying. I told him not to stress himself out, not to go after money but to go for what he wants to do to be happy. I asked him if he wanted to move back home and go to a local college. He immediately said, “No!” I regretted so much that I asked him this. Read more →

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He makes me brave

Friday June 29th, 2018
29 Jun 2018

By Linh Ly

When I think of the word “brave”, I think of soldiers going off to war or people who do extreme sports like skydiving or cliff jumping or people in history who lived out their convictions in the face of adversity. But during this last mission trip to Vietnam, God let me in on a personal adventure with him, which gave me another perspective of what it means to be brave.

Let me share the lyrics of the Bethel song “You make me brave” to express what I mean.

I have heard You calling my name
I have heard the song of love that You sing
So I will let you draw me out beyond the shore
Into your grace

You make me brave (2x)
You call me out beyond the shore into the waves
You make me brave (2x)
No fear can hinder now the love that made a way
No fear can hinder now the promises you make

For you are for us
You are not against us
You made a way
Champion of Heaven
You make a way for all to enter in

When I heard about the Vietnam STM trip, something inside of me stirred and I knew I was supposed to be on the team. In addition, I also felt that I should also spend extra time going to Hanoi. But I do not know anyone there and did not have any definite plans. Still, I trusted that God would lead me and help me with making the right connections.  Read more →

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My Christian walk

Wednesday June 20th, 2018
20 Jun 2018

By Joseph Cheng

Hi! My name is Joe, and I want to share with you about my Christian walk, and my decision to become baptized.

I was born into a Christian family, and was taught about faith and the Gospel by two awesome, Godly parents. I went to Sunday School, sang all the songs, and listened to all the teachings. After that, I went to Youth Group (E2), with big kids, big groups, and big snacks (the best part!). But in E2, my relationship with God really grew. I started to learn that life was not perfect, and that I will face problems that I would never have thought I would have faced. I also faced reality, too. My responsibilities started to grow and I had more things to do. Life wasn’t as care-free as before. My faith was starting to become challenged. It was here that I really had to trust in God. For example, I struggled with death. On the news, I heard about gruesome tragedies each day, and read about all the terrorist attacks around the world. I wondered if those things would happen to me. Read more →

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Battery Level, Finding Worms and Tending a Garden

Wednesday June 13th, 2018
13 Jun 2018

By Jimmy Ho

Some fifteen years ago, I received a fridge magnet that says, “You are blessed to be blessing,” so I am reminded everyday when I open my refrigerator door to always pass it forward. What a blessing it was to be at the Men’s Retreat with close to 90 other brothers this year. The men from the English Congregation had a blast two years ago and we didn’t even have an official speaker but this time we had the privilege of having Pastor Mike leading us in the Word of God.

In Matthew 5:16 (King James Version), it says, “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.” As such, we are blessed to be a blessing to others so that our experience doesn’t remain within ourselves but that God ultimately gets the glory for what He does in our midst. Read more →

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Hallelujah! Praise the Lord! Glory to God! Thank You Jesus!

Wednesday June 6th, 2018
06 Jun 2018

By Chan Lim

When I first moved out to the Bay Area, I came with a heavy heart, full of broken dreams. I loved my church family in Houston and didn’t want to leave but the only place where I could find a job to keep my immigration status was in San Jose.

My late Grandmother was one of my most steadfast prayer supporters, who, after praying over me, saw a vision of a hand setting down a lamp. I believed it was God telling me that He was placing me here intentionally, to be a light in this specific area. Read more →

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God’s longing

Wednesday May 30th, 2018
30 May 2018

by Andy Chen

It’s coming to a new chapter in life for me…my oldest daughter will be starting college later this year. She was busy filling out college applications and writing college essays. She applied to safety schools as well as “reach” schools. She is a “city” type of girl. Naturally, she likes colleges in big cities such as Boston, New York and Los Angeles. Last summer, she visited colleges in New York and Boston with her Mom. She also visited campuses in California. All in all, she applied to about a dozen schools. Through this college application process, God showed me a piece of His heart. Read more →

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Reflections on the Men’s Retreat 2018

Tuesday May 22nd, 2018
22 May 2018

By Anonymous

To be honest, I had given attending the Men’s Retreat this year only a passing thought. Having learned that the theme was “Walking in Authority,” I had already assumed it would be another take on a Wild at Heart theme, whose lessons I admittedly have only a vague recollection.  As is typical for me, I’d signed up at the last minute, and only did so at Pastor Douglas’ prompting.  Given my work schedule, I had even planned on arriving late, and hoped to leave early. Read more →

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