camp: the best week of your life

so i've been away from civilization for a while now... and it's taken me a long time to adjust back to it. last week i was at youth camp with 33 of our church kids, in addition to 900 youth from around illinois. why is camp the best week of your life? well, there's no distractions there, no phones, internet, bills, jobs, other responsibilities - just you and God. i went as a counselor, and even though i'm there for the kids, i always meet God at camp for myself.

this time, our speaker, ron rhoads (www.ronrhoads.org) gave a life-changing sermon for each night we were there, and the Holy Spirit touched everyone's lives in a different way. for me, God confirmed certain purposes for my life, and helped me to see that ministry is all dependent on His timing and His power.

one really cool testimony is that one of the girls in my room came from a different church, and at first i wasn't sure why she was in my room. but as she shared what she wanted God to do in her life this week - to confess to her parents about her relationship with her boyfriend - another girl from our room (from our church) was able to use her testimony of the same thing, and really speak to the other girl's heart because of it. that's all God's sovereignty, putting them together like that.

another testimony that i heard later, is that a youth from our church was playing a game with guy from another church who was being really disrespectful to him and everyone else. so our youth talked to the other kid and asked him why he was at camp - to which he responded, 'to win for my team.' and our kid kept sharing with him throughout the 5 days, about how God worked in his life last year at camp, and his relationship with God... and there was a salvation altar call, and this other kid went to the altar. i know it was directly related to our kid planting those seeds in his heart.

3 of our students from church received salvation this week! and countless more learned how to pray and worship with earnestness and faith.

i wish everyone could go to camp. it is not for the faint of heart, though. every day was a 20 hour day... and i'm still fighting off the cold due to exhaustion. but it's all worth it! i feel like i ended up going on a missions trip after all.

there's pictures and videos of camp on my facebook. check them out!

the biggest point i left with is that the people around us who are not alive in christ are dead spiritually, and they need us to, in a sense, bring them back to life. the dead don't know they're dead, and they count on the living. read the story of paul and eutychus, who fell out of the 3rd story and paul raise him back to life - acts 20. the last night, over 100 kids received salvation, and all 900 of us were on our faces praying for the people in our lives who we love and don't yet know christ. we don't know the hour or the day Jesus will come back, and we definitely don't know the time or day when God says our time is up. it's morbid, i know, but eternal life or eternal death is THE bottom line. even us christians forget that, and we implement all sorts of great social work projects - but don't preach the gospel. as we love the whole person, let's not forget to love their souls that were created for eternity and relationship with God.

spartans, prepare for glory!!!

enough with the silly posts already.

as i've been 'funemployed' these last few weeks and praying for the direction God would have me take, i've been wondering what would make my life meaningful and what would bring God the most glory in the short span of time i have on this earth.

of all the jobs and careers people have, how much does the glory of God count in their decision to take the route they do? you could argue that whatever God gave someone as their talent and passion will give Him glory by that person excelling at it - like an athletic or musical or academic talent. i was thinking, though, that at my funeral, would i want people to say, "i remember helen, she played really cool chords." obviously not. who would?

and with the recent passing of the legendary michael jackson, i've been thinking a lot about fame and glory. does being so good at something that you become famous give God glory? i think the answer to that is, if the motivation behind getting famous was to give God glory, then it just might. can't think of an example of this? maybe chris tomlin, or hillsong, or brooklyn tabernacle.... billy graham, rick warren... can you think of people outside of music/ christian circles who use their fame to give God glory? maybe martin luther king jr. or winston churchill?

i don't want to be famous anymore. for the longest time, i wanted to be recognized for my music. but i've concluded that being famous (for the sake of being famous) is actually really isolating and as unfulfilling as it gets. again, michael jackson being the extreme of this example.... but sometimes extremes show us the absolutes. what i do want is to bring God glory with my life, even if it means not being recognized, or even using my so-called talent.

if you didn't figure it out yet, the title of the blog is from "300", one of my favorite movies! poor hanna sat through all the gory violence with me! =)

a whole new world duet

so my new favorite artist, gabe bondoc, youtubed himself singing "a whole new world" duet style - so the girl has to sing the jasmine part...

but this poor girl failed miserably, and i just had to share

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V_ge9ehuYxI&feature=response_watch

discovered a new artist!

call me a sap, but this song is really good! i love when he goes into falsetto at around 3:45! but i don't know why he's sitting on the toilet! lol

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x_Bp6RNSUVo&NR=1

this guy writes his own songs and plays covers of famous songs... i like the ones he writes better

being

now that i've been on summer break (it's easier to think of it that way, rather than being unemployed), for about 10 days, i've had some - lots of - free time. during the more hectic times of the school year, i coveted free time, i longed for it, i took random days off just to have some... but it just feels strange to have so much of it.

while i was stressed out of my mind during the school year, i was secretly proud that i could handle the little sleep and being so productive.

there's no way this is harder than teaching.. but in a way, it's really hard to just be with myself for such a long stretch of time. i'm not being called on every few seconds ("Ms. Wu, Ms. Wu!") or having to submit lesson plans, grading, etcetc... and i feel a bit directionless right now.

hopefully, this post ends redemptively! i think God is teaching me that if He was all that i had, He should be enough. i can't try to fill the emptiness with productivity, or even leisure time. even if i spend more time doing ministry work, in the end, only my relationship with Him is what matters.

i think of my grandma, who spends most of her day, every day, in the house with just my grandpa and her bible and sermons on tape. her life is singularly devoted to knowing God better, even in her old age. i want to be content with my relationship with God, to the extent of where not even having a job or a direction in life would be just fine.

direction

now that i am officially "funemployed," as dave choi calls it, i have been thinking a LOT about my future.

there is no doubt that God led me through the teaching route to discipline and grow me. i now have a much higher "work" tolerance and level of responsibility. also, there's something to be said about going to work while feeling completely crappy (pms cramps, headache, sore throat, or just the blues...) and making it through the day, doing what needs to be done. MAN, i feel like such a grown-up.

i recently watched "revolutionary road" with steph which, while on the whole, was completely depressing, was brilliant in its portrayal of the common malaises of life. there's a quote from it:

"You want to play house you got to have a job. You want to play nice house, very sweet house, you got to have a job you don't like. "

i don't think this quote is true for everyone..... but it is, kinda. i think, for me, because my love and my passions are worship, music, and ministry, (none of which are paying my bills right now) my job will have to be one that brings in the bucks, but gives me the time i need to pursue my passions.

i feel like i came upon this notion much later in life than everyone else.

i know that God didn't give me the teaching experience and my passions to leave me here to flounder in confusion. he "knows the plans he has for us, plans to prosper us, and not to harm us, to give us a hope and a future."

so i shall pray and wait on God for each next step - and i ask for prayer from you if you think of me!

5th Grade Responsibilities

i was preparing some of the material from my years of teaching to hand off to the next teacher, so i made her a list of what she needs to do..... those of you who are interested in teaching, here ya go!

5th Grade Responsibilities:

Update in the Database (FileMaker Pro on the computer)
- Reading Theme tests (by category) – paper booklets in closet
- Math Chapter tests (percentage) - in textbook
- English Unit tests (percentage) – in textbook
- TIMS labs per quarter? – on TIMS CD
- Writing Prompts (1 per quarter -Narrative, Expository, Persuasive, Creative) – choose the prompts with your partner teacher

Major events during the year
- Science Fair from October to December
- Creative Writing “Bemmys” in February
- Poetry Slam in February/ March
- Spelling Bee (time TBA)
- Hispanic Heritage Project (time TBA)
- ISAT – Reading (Multiple choice, extended response), Math (Multiple choice, extended response, short response), Writing (Expository essay)

Needs to be done by June
Health – Sex Ed – 700 minutes
- lesson plans at healthteacher.com

Per Quarter
- Grades updated for progress reports and report cards on IMPACT
-School Based Problem Solving (Red folders from Sue Colclasure)
- Updated for progress reports and report cards
- Lit Circles every other quarter – find 2 novels that the class can read and discuss in small groups

Per Week
- Lesson plans due Monday at 8 am
- Find time to meet with social workers and contact parents.
- Gradebook for all Reading grades (homework, tests, AR, etc.)

Daily
- Attendance submitted on paper AND on IMPACT
-AR – online
- Parent Contact Logs
- Anecdotes of the children’s behavior/ academics

Helpful Hints:
- A portfolio of students’ tests/ projects, kept at school
- Get all major tests signed by parents
- Delegate AR to the aid
- Parents are very interested to know how to help their child study at home (reading logs!)
- Work on times tables from Day 1
- 5th graders are terrible with adding, subtracting, multiplying, and dividing fractions
- Reading and Math groups should be differentiated by specific skills