Happy Birthday Mom

Today is my Mom's birthday. It's weird how it takes a birthday to realize how grateful you are for someone. My mom has gone through so much for me and has sacrificed to no end. I don't think I know half of the stuff she has gone through to put me in a place of such privilege and blessing. She is one crazy woman. She came to America with her best friend and my aunt and uncle without knowing English, and without knowing anyone at the age of 24-26. She eventually went back to Korea for a little bit and found my Dad and then came back to live the American dream. A few years later they had my sister, and then me the wild child. The kid who couldn't sit still for a minute, the kid who was constantly in the hospital for injuries and surgeries, the kid who was always in the principles office because he was distracting the class, the kid who she has prayed for and still prays for everyday. The kid who hated to study, and wanted to play all the time, but somehow she pushed me through College and now I'm getting my Masters....you talk about a woman of determination. To get me through all that schooling???? WHAT??

I came to a huge realization a couple of years back that I get my sense of adventure and craziness from my Mom. People often ask me, why did you go to Gordon, all the way across the country? Well God, is the first answer but the sense of adventure, that is definitely my Mom. The same woman that came to a foreign country with a dream and a hope. I just flew across the country, and I had a great environment to come to (Maybe I was trying to get away from my crazy Mom who was trying to push me to be the best I could be too). Up and down the East Coast for the last 10 years, and grateful for the leap of faith that God made me take.

How about the fact that I have so many great friends all over the place? That would definitely be my Mom as well. I remember going on vacation every summer with my family and no matter where we were, we would run into one of my mom's nursing friends from Korea. Yosemite, Yellowstone, Chicago, New York etc....it's amazing to think about it. Similar to my Mom you think? I remember once when I was in New York for my sister's graduation from Med School, and I convinced her to go to a Yankees vs. Red Sox game with me. I was eating a hot dog outside the stadium when all of sudden a random girl starts staring at me....it was my friend Tina, and she was with a bunch of college friends going to the game. No big deal, there are only a billion people in New York and 40,000 people at the game, it's not like it's easy to plan out meeting your friends there rather then run into them by chance. I see my Mom in me so much it is kind of scary.

So today, I celebrate my Mom, and the fact that I am so similar to her and how awesome it is to be associated with such a great woman of God, is a blessing.




Here is a picture of me and her. (Notice I am not smiling because I'm a punk son, and was really tired....nice one Scott, nice one)

Slow Down, take a deep breathe...

These last couple of weeks have been pretty heavy. There are a lot of things in which I can't blog about at this point, but it has been tough. I think in all of this though I've realized that I need to slow down, take a deep breathe, and realize that God loves me. How often do I get so wrapped up in myself and things that are happening that I forget the simple, glorious fact that it's not about me. It never was and never will be. I will for the rest of my life think that it is, until God comes down and shakes me up through different trials and tribulations and blessings.

That's all I got for now, short and sweet, and tired....

Going to Rise Up....

So it's been a while since I've posted. A lot has happened since my last post. Spring Break was a great time. I took a group of 7 students out to Los Angeles. We served in several different places including, Midnight Mission (http://www.midnightmission.org/), World Vision, and Children's Hunger Fund (http://www.chfus.org/). We got to go to the Museum of Tolerance (http://www.museumoftolerance.com), go to Hollywood, Newsong Church, and even squeezed in a trip to Disneyland and Huntington Beach. It was a packed out trip. The students worked really hard and were really great. My favorite part of the trip was definitely seeing my parents interact with the students. It was awesome for my parents to get a glimpse of what I get to do everyday as an RD. It's a difficult job to explain, and something that is hard to experience, but my parents got it and were happy to serve alongside me for a week in the ministry that God has put me in.

Here are some pictures from the week.




Last week I got to go up to Boston for Easter Break. The last time I got to go up there was for Easter last year, so it had been a while. I got to see a lot of friends from college and I was reminded of how far we have all come. I got to meet my friends Brian and Julie's baby Gracie, I got to see my friends Jay and Pamela's almost remodeled house, I got to walk around Gordon with my buddy Brian and reflect back on how awesome college was. I also got to take jumping pictures on the beach after Easter Dinner, a tradition that will hopefully continue for the next couple of years.

And for your viewing pleasure, here again are some pictures...


So, there is about one month left in the school year. There is a TON of stuff to do, and a lot on my mind. This is my song for the month.

"Rise" by Eddie Vedder

Such is the way of the world
You can never know
Just where to put all your faith
And how will it grow

Gonna rise up
Burning back holes in dark memories
Gonna rise up
Turning mistakes into gold

Such is the passage of time
Too fast to fold
And suddenly swallowed by signs
Low and behold

Gonna rise up
Find my direction magnetically
Gonna rise up
Throw down my ace in the hole