semylee

i think you can tell a lot about a person just by looking at their room. i remember watching room raiders way back (the show where you raid a person’s room and choose who you’ll go on a date with based off of what you found in their room). it was a pretty addictive show way back when. but, that idea wasn’t so farfetched when it came to judging a person’s character. interestingly enough, my room tends to take after me and my conditions. 

i’ve never really been a clean person until i started living on my own and growing in maturity (yes, i believe a clean room signifies a sense of maturity). ever since then, i’ve been pretty consistent in keeping the area of my living clean and orderly. i’m not ocd but i like things to be clean. however there are a few seasons throughout the year where my room is a complete disaster. clothes piled up. messy bed. cluttered desk. littered hair. the whole shebang. i noticed that when my room is dirty, it’s indicating something towards my own personal life. basically, my life and thoughts are in shambles and it bleeds into the way my room is represented. when i’m not in His word, not jamming to some praise, pushing myself away from him … my room gets the brunt of it. my room becomes the object of neglect and abandonment. 

after being in shambles for almost the past three weeks … it’s clean again. still a few fumbles here and there, but overall clean. most likely also a good indication that my life is being pieced back together stronger than ever. i’m hoping it stays this way for a LONG time :) i mean let’s be real .. a clean room always looks nicer than a messy one :D

After my pastor talked about testifying, i decided it was time to make a collection of the various testimonies God’s given in my life.

If you look right below my banner, i created a TESTIFY page where i’m currently working on writing down the many testimonies that belong in my story. There’s more to come. Check it out!

undoubtedly, there has been more and more light being shed on the human trafficking industry as of late. with an article on human trafficking in the super bowl. movies like whistle blower. documentaries like nefarious. ministries like unearthed. and get this .. even in my favorite anime one piece. after over a whole year of taking a hiatus from one piece, i picked it up again yesterday from where i had left off almost a year and a half ago. i kid you not, one of the first few episodes i was catching up on dealt with none other than human trafficking:

caption: on this archipelago, slave-trading and selling of human lives is still acceptable

since i haven’t believed in coincidences since I met Jesus and don’t plan on starting ever again. this is no coincidence. connect the dots and it’s easy to see that God is communicating his heart on this issue. He’s calling us to pray and fast. He’s calling us to move. He’s calling us to move others. however, i’ll be honest, a lot of times, i feel really hopeless and frustrated by the sheer reality of what’s going on (just watch whistleblower or nefarious if you need to make it real for yourself). every time i feel that i have to break off the lie of hopelessness of this reality and speak forth hope in the truth. the truth that i will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. i will see human trafficking come to an end in my lifetime. come Jesus come. 

lately, i’ve been trying to catch up in the movie scene and came across a lot of “waste-of-my-time” films until today. just finished watching one called, “the warrior” all i knew about it was that it dealt with the ufc, which my brother is in love with. honestly without much expectation i gave it a go and the after effects are still quite in effect. i loved how the film was done. it didn’t feel like a movie. it felt like real life. 

to every obvious eye, the portrayal of tommy and his life really showed the hurt he lived through and how he continued to let it linger and fester. almost the entire movie, he retaliated in anger, fits of rage, and a cold shoulder. sounds all too familiar. we all react to hurt in one form or another. for tommy, the only remedy was forgiveness. 

now the term forgiveness and its true meaning is tossed around a lot. some people say this and some people say that. i feel that true forgiveness is not simply the act of saying, “i forgive you.” honestly, that’s only in the beginning stages. true forgiveness is when you are able to retaliate in love despite the hurts that may continue to come your way time and time again. true forgiveness must stand the tests of time. if you don’t know how to truly forgive, no worries, Jesus can teach you. 

man, i love movies that give me renewed insight. the warrior is a must-watch. if you’re a crier prepare the necessities. 

the past couple of months feel quite like a dream. a whirlwind of a dream.

early in october. after countless confirmation of my desire to travel and a fellow sister who would accompany me on my sojourn. the decision was made. a 17-day back-packing trip through four countries among the southeast region of the largest continent known as asia. and yes. i can testify that it can be done. deeply wished to do five but that was definitely pushing the human limits. our targets were highly unfamiliar territories to me

:: vietnam . cambodia . thailand . malaysia ::

attempting to trek through four countries in a mere two and a half weeks didn’t seem too far-fetched to me. my experienced traveling friends told me otherwise. i tried to take it to heart. but in the end, my selfish heart won. i was greedy. wanted to see, feel, taste, touch, hear, and experience as much as i could in the limited amount of time given. so i prepared as best i could as an inexperienced country hopper.

after having finished this trip i’ll say that i’m even more in love with traveling but i’ll never do this again. by this i mean 4 honking countries in 17 stinking days. not because it was stressful/tiresome/impossible. rather due to the reality of time. there just didn’t seem like enough hours in a day to soak in everything. instead of a specialty steak house, the trip was buffet-style where i was able to taste test a bit of everything. my body wasn’t able to digest everything in time.

these next couple of posts will be about my travels through these various beautifully broken countries. .