Ready for Italy? Not really. Ready for God? You betcha.

Yesterday, I finally got my beloved Eggplant (my mac) back. It was with my 2^nd mom for a few days to install some software on it before I depart for my grand adventure. I’ve given my baby a full name- Eggplant Plum Gehman. Every laptop needs to feel loved just like every one of us. ;) I was overjoyed with all software that I was extremely blessed with- Adobe Design Premium CS5. I wanted those software for like... forever. I was actually leaping and squealing—obviously excited to play around with it and improve my skills with CS5 software. My first step was… to create an artistic resume to send along with my internship applications. Those internship applications really need to be sent out before I leave for Italy.  I’ve been meaning to send it last week….

                

                        I still have two more days…

        laundry, packing, filling out applications, and finish the painting project for my dad and uncles… all in two days- I CAN DO IT!

Just when I turned my Eggplant off for the night, I looked at the time. It said “1:58am”

Oh no…

         I was already planning on attending a church service on the next morning.  I don’t have an alarm clock- it’s all packed away. I have a good body clock. I usually wake up on time… most of the times. I thought to myself and made a deal with God “Ah, hopefully, I will wake up on the time. If I do, then I definitely will go to the church. There’s no excuse for me to not. If I don’t wake up on the time… oops, oh well.” That was my typical attitude for the past few years. I tend to go with the flow, with whatever works for me in the mornings.

Then I woke up this morning with a feeling that I was already late for the church. Just when I was about to say, “shoot… back to bed then.”, I turned to look at the time, it said, “7:31am”

“Aw. Seriously? No, I want to sleep some more.” My body whined as I snuggled just a tad bit more in my warm comfy bed, covered with zillion blankets.

I almost could felt God rubbing my arm, and whispered in my head, “Honey, we already made a deal last night. Get up! It will be a good day!”

Dang, I almost wished that I didn’t make the deal with Him last night.

       In less than 45 minutes, I was out of the house, on my way to Lancaster County Bible Church (the one that I attended for the Christmas Eve). I was alone this time. As I turned into the lane toward to LCBC, my stomach did a backflip from the sight of the church. The church was HUGE, surrounded with countless vehicles parking around it. The last time I was there, it was dark in the evening. God…I do not like this- being in a new church alone. I do not even know a single person there. I love to be alone in various places, restaurants, schools, and countries except… churches. I always feel somehow intimated in a new church filled with new faces.

Interpreter and the deaf and hard of hearing audience usually sit on the far right in the front. I found where I was supposed to sit and left my jacket there, with no clue what I should do next… I walked back into the lobby, and found a café. Pretty impressed with the café provided in the church. I love this church already, I thought to myself. For those who know me well, I do not make a good pot of coffee. Whenever you want a cup of coffee, please… for your health’s sake, do not ask me. I’ve tried and tried to make a good pot of coffee. It’s not in me. Nevertheless, I do have the incredible enormous passion for coffee. The taste… The ability to carry me throughout the day. MmMmMmm…

Ah… back to the point… I got my vanilla latte and wandered through the church to finish my cup. I had approximately five minutes before the service would start. I passed so many people, and yeah, I was still feeling a bit overwhelmed. Someone tapped my shoulder.

What? Someone actually tapped my shoulder? Who possibility can that be?

I turned right after I took one more sip of my coffee. I literally almost choked when I saw him.

He was my Algebra teacher from the high school!! What?!

                       Oh.. right... I've completely forgotten that he attends to this church with his family.

            Flashback On the first day in the high school… I wasn’t too fond of him mainly due to what he had said to my class. He claimed that whomever writes fairly large are not intelligent as those students who can write narrow and small. Immediately after seeing what the interpreter translated, I looked down to my paper and analyzed my handwriting… it was fairly average big, I gulped. I’m doomed. Now, I know that he was just joking, but you don’t joke with those poor freshmen on their first day in the high school. Gracious. If it wasn’t for his humor and him to lure me into the best sport ever, lacrosse, I probably still wouldn’t like him to this day. He was my coach for lacrosse, so I grew to respect and appreciate him. But as my math teacher, eh.

I surely felt God tapping my shoulder once again and joked with me, “You didn’t think you would see anyone you would know, huh?”

The funny thing is that the sermon this morning was about God talking to us in a small voice, in different ways, and how to filter whether the voice is really God’s or just some crazy voices in our head. Then it is up to us to call him and listen.

I think a part of me died when I got up in the morning by listening to his command. So, this is what it feels to die for Christ daily...? Bit by bit, and this is just a beginning for me.

     I like this feeling.

I wanted to post a picture of a cup of latte but found this... couldn't resist posting it up. Hopefully, a certain friend of mine will notice! :D