Honoring God through True Ministry

“All the widows stood around him, crying and showing him the robes and other clothing that Dorcas had made while she was still with them” (Acts 9:39b)

As a teen, I’ve always wanted to be a missionary. But, when my mother disapproved of my going to a Christian college and going to the mission field, my dreamed quickly became dashed. I was disappointed. Nothing meant serving God except to become a missionary. I wanted to remain single so I can go to the Ivory Coast as a missionary. In fact, I took French all four years in high school and two years in college, but when my mother took the “drastic measures” to stop me, I quickly resent all services as possible avenues to glorify God.

Yes, I know that is quite sad.

But as I grew older, I’ve come to realize that true ministry doesn’t have to come in big ways. It doesn’t even have to be recognized by any human beings. True ministry comes from the heart. True ministry can be as simple as:

Collecting can goods for charities.
Driving someone to the store, doctor, or to visit a relative.
Raising a family.
Cooking meals for families in crisis
Visiting someone in the hospital
Babysitting

These are just some samples. There are dozens upon dozens of ministry around your own neighborhood. I know of a couple who would loan their cars to members of the church who may have car difficulties. They also loan mattresses-the people may use them as long as needed, but when they don’t need it, this couple would take them back, put them in their attic until someone else needs it.

Another couple takes under-privileged children out for entertainments. Sometimes, they take them to their house and order pizza. Sometimes, they take them to YMCA, or the movies. But, they’re always taking someone’s child some place.

Another lady in our church hosts baby showers at her house for women from work and church alike.

The above may not be possible for you to do right now, but what about a smile? I remember one day I went to the grocery store. I was feeling pretty crummy, but the cashier made me so happy by just smiling and carrying on with a cheerful look. I wanted to ask her why she was so happy, but I thought I knew the answer so I didn’t ask. Then, later I found out that her son had been at the hospital. She was working two jobs and going to nursing school just to keep her son well-cared for. Yet, she remained cheerful and passed on that smile you cannot resist to reciprocate.

Having seen all of these different ministries, I’ve come to realize that there’s only one size for ministry-love. If I have love for God, I’ll want to do anything that pleases God. It wouldn’t matter whether anyone recognizes it. But, if I do it from the heart, people will recognize it. Who knows, maybe people will even miss me when I die-just like those widows missed Dorcas. Perhaps, I’ll hear, “Well done, my good and faithful servant.”

Oooops!

My Dear Fellow Bloggers,

I apologize for all the trouble this site is causing. I diligently and individually linked your links to the post: A Woman of Noble Character: The Key. But, as I've tested over the week, I've found that some of them got overlapped. I do not know how this happened. As I tried to visit your sites through those links, they took me to strange sites I'm not familiar with-not bad sites, actually very informative and Christians. I do not know how this happened. I've tried to fix it but continues to become a problem. Therefore, I am going to take some time later to list them on the blogroll instead. It will take time and will not happen all at once.

I do want you all to know that I've missed reading your blogs especially those of you who are running series. So, this is serious to me.

Please, do pray for my computer and websites. There has been many challenges. I have a feeling I'm not really fighting with the computer or the www. This is a spiritual warfare. Eventhough I know that no weapon forged against me will prevail, it is mind boggling and time consuming-and I'm sure he's enjoying this as well. God is good. I am an overcomer through His love and strength.

God bless you all!

A Woman of Noble Character's Privileges

“…as a bridegroom rejoices over his bride so will your God rejoice over you” (Isaiah 62:5b).

As I was reading some of the answers to the questions concerning the She Speaks Conference, written by Proverbs 31 Speakers & Authors, I found myself filled with tears, because God was speaking to me through their written words. I was filled with an overwhelming sense of love from my Father. He was saying, “I will love you until you return home to me.” It doesn’t matter what my circumstances are, He has already made up His mind that He loves me, just for me. After all, He did choose to make me the way I am.

He was saying to me that He rejoices over me just as a bridegroom rejoices over his bride. He loves me for me. He enjoys being in my presence. He enjoys protecting and providing for me. That is so reassuring. And, He does prove His love to me all the time: All of the wonderful comments you, my readers, left on my blog are so encouraging to me. All of the extra food my family received since December 2007 are overwhelming us with the pride of His love. And, since then, we’ve received a brand new washer and a brand new stove. We received all of these gifts, not because we deserve it, but because He was simply demonstrating His joy and love to and over us. Let His name be glorified.

Growing up, we never had very much. My father was an opium addict, very laid back, not very much help to my mother. He passed away two weeks before I was born. I never knew him. I have never experienced what a father’s love or hate was like. My mother did remarry, but even then my step-sister never allowed me to call my step-father, “father.” And, I never knew him, because he was serving in the Vietnam War so he was rarely home. If he was, I couldn’t remember. He, too, died. My mother was left to raise us on her own. We were always provided for, but never have plenty. Always just barely getting by. And, people looked down on us.

As a result, I hated taking hand outs. I felt so ashamed every time someone gave me something. I hated asking for help. I would rather persevere my circumstances: being in rags and nutritionally deficient before I asked for help. So, when my dear friend found out how I felt, she told me (lovingly) that I was robbing people’s joy of giving to me; that I was taking away their chances of serving and obeying God. Of course, my insecurities made me feel worse knowing it. Still, I remained shameful of my circumstances. I just couldn’t let go. I prayed to God to release me of this being financially insufficient all the time. But, each time I said a prayer like that, He handed me a gift through someone else. And, I just couldn’t understand because I never viewed my circumstances as privileges of suffering along with Christ. Instead, I felt unloved, unappreciated, and worthless.

I failed to understand that our lives are much like characters in a play: Each character has its own function and purpose. No matter how small the part is, it is needed to make the purpose of the other characters come alive. As God assigns a role to us, we have a choice of serving with a joyful heart or view it as a burden to bear. When we view it as a privilege of service, we tend to handle it with peace and joy, and God rejoices over us. Whereas, when we view it as a burden, we hold grudges and play pity party, and lose the joy of seeing our Father’s love for us-not that He doesn’t love us, but that we are blinded by our perspective of things.

Our circumstances are privileges to allow Him to demonstrate His Love, Mercy and Sovereignty. Our circumstances are temporary. They will not last. As we learn to accept them as privileges of service to bring His Name glory and honor, He rejoices over us. Thus, a woman of noble character learns to enjoy life no matter what her circumstances are, because she knows God rejoices over her.

My dear friends, God chooses to rejoice over you. Will you choose to see your circumstances as privileges to serve Him and allow His Name to be glorify? May God bless you and rejoice over you.

Shoua

The Woman of Noble Character: The Key

Yeah! Finally, Valentine’s Day is here. It’s really, really, really here. No, I didn’t get a dozen of red roses this morning. I didn’t even get a good-bye kiss from him this morning. He rushed out of the door like he always does. He didn’t even say Happy Valentine’s Day to me. Today, happen to be trash day, so he took out the trash and didn’t have time to eat breakfast. He left.

But, I am still happy! Yep! It’s Valentine’s Day! And, I actually stuck to my Valentine’s Day dedications: it is important to me because I am a new person. I’ve found the key to happiness. In the past, if you asked me what I would do for Valentine’s Day or any holiday for that matter, I would say “nothing, I have no money.” Well, today, I don’t need money to make me happy. It’s not that I don’t need money; it’s just that I don’t need money to make Valentine’s Day a happy day for me.

God has given me a new beginning since 2007. Granted I have my ups and downs, but I am generally happier today than I was a couple of years ago. Then, it was all about me: what I wanted, needed, and had to have. It was about my bills. It was about the children taking too much of my time. It was about a husband who couldn’t meet my expectations. It was about not having enough work. It was about ___________. It was about everything that revolved around me and my happiness. Everything came back to m-e.

Then, Christmas 2006, I was involved in network marketing and a video/book was passed down to me. I paid $5 to watch it online. Then it was too “awesome” so I bought four of them, one for each of my downline supervisors and one for me. But, as I re-watched the video and passed it around to others, a thought was provoked deep within me-I am not the source of my happiness. God is the source. I am not the designer of my future. God is designer of my life. While their god/source can be the universe, genie, Buddha or whatever they believe to be their god, mine is God the Almighty. The key to all is God.

So, I began to search for truth to back me up against the subtle lies of this video. And, the more I searched, the more He showed Himself. He led me through the book of Hebrews.
These were the words that jumped out at me.

Therefore, since the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us be careful that none of you be found to have fallen short of it…Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are ---yet was without sin. Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need (Hebrews 4:1, 14-16).

These words were so firm, so strong, yet so sweet and loving. God’s promise for us to enter His rest still stands. He’s still offering it to me. All I got to do was take it. Take His promise; accept the fact that He loves me because He chose to. The key to our happiness is to accept His free gift of love. Therefore, I should not be afraid to go to Him and place my requests at His feet, allowing Him to grant them. Oh, how sweet it is to follow Jesus. Jesus died on the cross for my sin. Jesus paid it in full. All of my past and present hurts and pain, shame and grief, He paid it all. And, He’s extending the invitation to enter into His rest. Aaaaah, rest. True rest. What better way to develop a noble character than to enter His true rest. The Key is God.

Because Christ is our high priest, I needed to hold on to the faith I profess for years. It was never about me. It was about God: His purpose and His will for my life. Since He is greater than Moses in the order of Melchizedek. Well, I’m not a Bible Scholar, but according to the Bible, Melchizedek happens to be the outstanding high priest of all time, appointed by God. Christ surpasses all of the high priests. He was perfect, yet He bore my sins so I can enter His rest: The Key to peace. He said, “Hey, I know what is like to face your situation, I experienced it.” Christ understands my pain, my shame, and my grief.

And, He calls for me, and you, to come to Him with confidence. After all, He is the Son of the Great I am: I AM whatever you need. I am the Key. The door is open. The invitation is being extended. All you and I got to do is approach His throne of grace with confidence-believe, have faith in Him to provide us with whatever we ask for. Most importantly, believe that He will provide-He will answer our prayers. Isn’t that awesome? Finally, I understood what people mean when they say, “God is good.” God is good, indeed.

So, I pondered on. I continued to search more. I bought more books, read more passages. I took out all of my husband’s Study Bibles. I read them. I bought one for myself. The more I read, the more I wanted to know. There has never been such a hunger for the truth-all because of one such video that promises to be the key to whatever you want. It caused me to say, “I don’t think so, but I know One who can deliver all that and more.” And, I have to say, thanks be to God for rescuing me from that video and numerous other lies that the enemy tries to press upon me. God is the only Key that matters. And, so He is my Valentine. Happy LOVE day, my Lord.

Now, I also want to extend my Valentine dedications to my blogging friends.

These are ones I visit often and ones in awhile I see their comments on my blog (they are busy ladies):

Renee Swope
MaryBeth Whalen
Lysa Terkeurst
Rachel Olsen

These are ones I visit and they have visit me with great encouragements (not in any particular order):

Dawn Ward
shonda
amy l brooke
tina vega
crownlaiddown
van
Rachel –in Europe
Lauren at faith fuel
Mandymom.com
momlaughs
Cellyb
MissSandy
Dionna
Susan
Lelia Chealey
Mrsjoeb
http://diggingforpearls.blogspot.com/
http://mommymonk.blogspot.com/
Mac @ http://www.impactrevolutions.com/ (this young man is the first visitor. Great guy. His mom must be happy to have such an awesome young man).

Happy Valentine’s Day to all of you, for your thoughtfulness and encouragements while visiting my site. God bless you.

Valentine Dedications: Hubby

This is my hubby. He likes to indulge the children. They sure do a lot together. My children used to tell me to go work so daddy can come to stay with them. Daddy is more fun. Daddy takes them places. Mommy just stays home.

He loves football-to watch, of course. In fact, that used to be the problem between us. I hated football seasons: I couldn't get him to do anything.

He also likes to fish-both man and fish. He's collected enough Bibles and leadership books to have a library (I wish I had a camera to take pictures of his bookshelves).

He pastored a church for two years before we were married. He decided he needed a sidekick for this job. He brought me to a cozy one bedroom apartment. He gave my piano away-that was a red flag. Of course, he won, but I held on to the grudge. He gave me the check book-no complain there. Actually, I wish he would have kept that.

I don't think we're romantic as a couple. All his relatives think we are a romantic couple. I think they're all out of wack. He doesn't buy me flowers, presents or gifts of any kind. He doesn't take me out to eat unless I pay for it (remember I keep the checkbook). We don't have anything in common except our love for Jesus: He likes to collect books, I like to read them. He likes to fish, I actually catch them (fish, not man). He likes to watch tv, I like to keep busy. He likes to go out, I like to stay home. He likes football, I like gardening. He plays soccor, soccor plays me. He likes nice pressed clothes, I like to dress in t-shirts and jeans. His socks actually match the outfits he wears. my socks are always white no matter what I wear.

But, we've been married for 14 years. Yep! He's a patient man. That's why he is my Valentine. God has been very good to us. There were times when I thought it would be the last time I put up with him. Then, there were times when he packed up to leave, but decided to stay. We're not a perfect couple or family. We have a lot of flaws. But, under God's grace and mercy, we are one. We stand together with the Lord as our strength.

******"None of the rulers of this age understood it, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory" (1 Corinthians 2:8).******

Yes, we don't understand how we last. We couldn't be any more different and yet God kept us together for His glory, His purpose in which He designed for us, yet to be revealed. I am thankful for my husband. His patience has taught me a great deal about God's love. He is my Valentine through and through. God bless you, Honey.

Valentine Dedications: Oldest-my right hand

This is my oldest. I am so glad God gave me a girl first. She's very handy. She's the most expensive child I have: She helps more, but uses more, spends more, and shares more than anyone in this house. She also works more too.

Just like a normal 13 year-old, she wants a lot of what her friends have. She likes to shop only as long as she has the money to buy. When we go shopping, she's usually the one to shoot me out of the store-she's very focus especially if I let her know just how much money we have on hand. However, she does not keep her money on her long-figures.

She helps me to stay focus on my task. She's a momma's girl. I pray the Lord will send her a good Christian girl friend soon. Although I enjoy hanging around her, I want her to experience that good girl friends ways of doing things.

When she was little, she threw all her dolls behind her. She didn't play with dolls or girl toys for that matter. It's funny, but now she likes girl stuff.

I used to sing when I was young, so my mother wanted her to take after me, only to go much further. She prayed that God would give her musical talents. Now, she takes after her dad and her aunts. They sing! They have talents. Most of her cousins sing and play some kind of musical instruments. She plays the trumpet and sings in the choir. I think my mom's going to get her wish-if she doesn't change her mind first. I just had a conference with her counselor and she's going to major in band for her freshman year. She just told me that she was placed in the Sympo-something. Hey, I can't spell. I'v never been to kindergarten-hahaha. Can't blame me. Anyhow, she's got the music stuff.

Yes, she loves electronic gadgets. This was Christmas 2005 (?). She has more electronic gadgets than I've had all my life, except a computer. She asked for this little thing here for over a year. I finally bought it for her, then she played with-oh I think twice. Right now she has no clue where it is-I told you she is expensive.

But, I don't know what I would do without her. She's everywhere with me. She even goes to the writers group meeting with me. She read her poem for the first time. I was biting my lips: honestly, I was afraid that it would sound bad and she would get discouraged, but you know? It turned out that I just did not know how to read poems. She did a good job. In fact, one of the lady thinks she should enter it in some kid publications. She's an awesome kid. That's why she's my Valentine.

Valentine Dedications: Gaosoua & Elishua

I am sorry for taking a couple of days off. Weekends are just filled for me and I just couldn't get back on my keyboard. But, I will have to keep it short today as well-I have loads of laundry to do and a few errons to run, and my quilt order is pressing deadline. But, my children are important to me and I cannot forget them. So, I hope Gaosoua and Elishua are not feeling bad for being on the same day.

That's funny, because they happen to be rivals. They seem to be at each other's throat all the time. One of them always start something. If one or both of them are not home, my home is quiet and peaceful. But, when both of them are home, it's "Mom!..." in constant shingles. I've learned to be calm and teach them what they should know. We're getting somewhere.


Here's Gaosoua. At nine years old, she's pretty smart: needs a little help here and there, but all around smart. She's very determined to make sure her voice is heard. Her name means "beautiful voice." She definitely has a voice-loudest in the family. She loves to sing and keep her brother (Jamin) and sisters (Tabitha and Elizabeth) occupied.

She's my bookkeeper. She acts as though she doesn't pay attention, but when one of the family members is not present, she's the first to notice. Because of her, Tabitha is alive today-we've forgotten that Tabitha was in the car on one hot July Sunday afternoon-she kept on asking where the baby was and she didn't give up when I told her to go away so I could cook. She finally got our attention and we realized that Tabitha was still in the car. Without Gaosoua's love for her sister, we would have lost Tabitha, gone to jail and leave the four of them parentless.


I always teased her that she's a Mexican girl, got switched at birth, because she's very pretty and has a high nose bridge. But, she knows that she's mine-forever will be. She's very loving and kind. She likes to dance and do gymnastics; she's got the body.

When she was a year and a half, I sent her on a long trip to see my mother for her birthday. Ever since then, she's been very attached to me, constantly on the look-out for me, making sure I don't leave her. But, then again, she is the family bookkeeper. When everyone is around, she competes for the attention, but when she's alone with me, she's very quiet.



This is Elishua, means, "God is sovereign." He is a born leader. He loves to take charge of things and situations. Little kids love him. Even infants like him. Here, he managed to quiet Elizabeth down. They slept here on the couch while their big sister stole a picture. He was pretty proud about it.


He smiles all the time. In fact, when he was in first grade, or was it kindergarten, one of the parents called me and asked if I would allow him to go over and play with her son because he made her son happy with his smiles. They still send him Christmas presents after 5 years of being apart. And, he loves to make his big sister laugh, especially when she's mad. He is a silly kid.

See if you can spot him here. When he was small, he was so cute. I wished to keep him that way, but I was not thinking of the consequences I would make him pay. Now, he's so small, I can't even spot my own son in the crowd. That's why there's a saying, "be careful, what you wish for."

Although, he's small physically, mentally he's very smart. He corrects me with my English. He opens locks that I can't open. He's electronically advanced; He fixed my VCR/DVD player. He's very good with his hands. He likes to draw. He's already selling his artwork at school. I wish I have his permission to put his video clip up for you to see. That would definitely put a smile on your face, but since I don't have his permission and he's pretty particular about it, you'll just have to believe me.

For the unspeakable qualities as well as the ones mentioned above, they are definitely my Valentine. And, I love them. Happy Valentine's Day, Elishua & Gaosoua!

Valentine's Day Dedication: Jamin

This is Jamin, my prince. When he was born, he actually had hair and so tiny, but cute, so I called him "handsome". Along the way, he gained "Handsome Prince." He's very clean. If he gets one wet spot, he'll change to a new outfit. When I do his laundry, I usually do it in two or three loads because he throws everything together; dirty and clean clothes. Yes, I'm trying to teach him to put clothes, that he has taken out but decided not to wear, back in their rightful places. He has not gotten it right yet, but he's working on it.

The other day, he was washing dishes, part of his chores. He got a little wet, looked down on his shirt and looked at me, then he said with a smile, "I got a little wet, what shall I do?" I knew he was feeling uncomfortable, but instead of telling him he could change, I told him it would dry later on. He looked at me like I was a mad woman and said, "uh". Then walked away.

When I asked him what this means. He said, "X-out of this house." I'm not sure about this boy, but he sure knows a lot of moves I don't have a clue about.

One of the moves he made was when he was in 4-year kindergarten. Towards the middle of the school year, I noticed that he was saying the "f" word a lot. I asked him who taught him that, he said, "myself." I kept on telling him and asking him to stop using the word, but he couldn't. I washed his mouth with detergent soap (of course, I used a clean sponge). Then, when visitation day came, his teacher came over to our house and I shared with her. She said he may have picked it up from his classmate who exploded in the middle of lunch-time. Thank goodness, it was just a phase.

This is a shirt he will not let me get rid of. He can barely put it on his head, it is so small, it will probably fit his little sister. But he sure loves it a lot.

Jamin has a special talent: he loves to tell stories and act them out. He's very active and can hardly sit still. He's always doing something. Last October, his cousins came over to spend a week with us and we had devotion and prayer for one of the night, but there were eight kids, so he was getting restless. He got up and started to do his Power Ranger moves. I thought he was not listening, but each time I asked questions related to the passages we read, he gave the answers correctly. We were all amazed how well he was listening while those who were sitting still couldn't answer the questions.

Jamin is special to us: he was our last child (as we planned anyway). So, we wanted him to bare an unusual name out of the Bible. Every name that we've planned to name him had been given to my husband's relatives. So, we chose Jamin. It was short, cute and meaningful. Jamin is the son of Simeon and through him the Jaminite clan was formed. Jamin, a different one was one of the first Israelite to return to Jerusalem after their captivity by Babylon. And, I had just recently learned from one of the Bible Students at Columbia International University that his name means, "right hand man". Isn't that something? He is an awesome kid.

Several months ago, he saw me copying some Bible verses down and he said, "mom, you're not supposed to copy books."

I was taken by his seriousness, so I asked, "Why not?"

"Because, God wouldn't like that," he said.

"Actually, God loves it when we spend time reading and writing His words down, because that shows that we listen to Him."

"Uh. Can I do that, too?" he asked.

"Yes, what story would you like to read first?"

"Daniel and the lion," he replied.

And for the next several weeks we spend time going from one story to another. But, it was music to my ears to know that he loves to read the Bible.

Well, here are my prince and princess. Sleepy heads-long trip. Just like all siblings, they fight and play together, and when they are tired, they learn to lean on one another for support. If only we can be as forgiving as they are: Jesus said, "I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it" (Mark 10:15). Children don't hold grudges the way we do. They don't remind us everyday of the things we do wrong. Instead, they show us love, bring us flowers, give us hugs, and thank us for loving them back. That's why we should imitate our children's actions and behaviors when it comes to learning and accepting the Word of God.

Jamin has demonstrated countless times of love and forgiveness for me. He's joyful and kind, thoughful and compassionate. That's why he's my Valentine.

Valentine's Day Dedication: Tabitha

Tabitha is 6 years old. She's smart and pretty. She likes to be called Princess.

We talked about being God's children; therefore, we are princes and princesses and Tabitha took that to heart. So, she's my princess as well as God's true princess.

Her prayer request each night is always, "to have a good dream."

She likes the attention we give her. She loves to play house and tell fairy tail stories. In fact, she has her own jungle princess story with lots of animals, including cats and dogs. She also enjoys reading her Bible. She's working on Daniel and the lion. And, she always brings me flowers. In fact, she brought me a dandelion today.

Tabitha is found in the Bible. Tabitha (Dorcas in Greek) means gazelle which means graceful. She was "always doing good and helping the poor." But, she got sick and died. She was terribly missed by the ones she helped. Acts 9:39b: "All the widows stood around him, crying and showing him the robes and other clothing that Dorcas had made while she was still with them."

Can you imagine that? She was remembered for the little deeds that she did. And, so I wanted my little girl to be a caring and compassionate person. And, that's why I named her Tabitha. I had to remind my husband of the goods about Tabitha to convince him that Tabitha is a good name and person. I did go in the Bible and pulled out the story to give him. He relunctantly agreed. And, now I have my princess Tabitha.

I wish that was all true. But, there's anoher tail to the story. You see, while I was growing up, I loved watching "Bewitched." The little girl is half witch and half mortal, because the mother, Samantha, is a witch while her father is mortal. I can still remember her twinkling her nose to play tricks on her parents. So, as a little girl, I told myself that someday when I'm old enough to change my name, I would change it to Samantha and when I have a little girl, I would name her Tabitha. Another goal accomplished. However, had she not been found in the Bible, I may have a hard time convincing my husband.

Here's a picture of her trying to get in front of the camera. Yes, she likes swords and guns (I don't buy them-not willingly anyway). Thank goodness, just about every sword and gun are gone.

She's a very carefree person. She likes to dress as anything goes. She used to wear different socks all the time and trying to change that was a challenging task. I got all worked up about it, but her Sunday School teacher said that I should relax, let her create her own fashion and style. She'll stop when she realize other's don't dress like her. She's doing so much better now, thank God.

Oh, I cannot forget this: She's a true chocolate girl. She can never get tired of chocolate. She'll eat chocolate until she drops. She likes everything chocolate-cocoa, cookies, candies, etc. That's why she's my Valentine.

Valentine's Day Dedications: Elizabeth

Here's my baby. Isn't she a bald doll? I'll just let a few of these pictures tell you the story why she's my Valentine. These pictures are all before she turned one.

Yeah, finally going out.

Look what I can do.
Stop telling me sad stories.
I can finally sit with my blanket's support.

This is so good, I can eat it side ways, hah.

Okay my blog friends, I do not know how to move pictures or do anything much with them. But, this is my baby at her best and worst.

Valentine Dedications: My Mother

I have 10 days, including today, until Valentine’s Day. And, each day leading to Valentine's Day, I want to dedicate a blog day to each one of my family members because they are the love of my life.

Disclaimer: I do not have a father. I mean my father died two weeks before I was born and never knew him. So, I will not be sending him a Valentine dedication. And, my mother does not read English or use the computer so she will never be able to read this, but I’m writing it because I want you to know how wonderful she is.

My Mother

She’s serious, sarcastic, practical, slim, loud, energetic, and prideful. She’s 82 years old, looks more like she’s in her late 60’s (I hope I have more of her genes). She’s pessimistic as far as social status, but very positive as far as life goes: She doesn’t believe in talking about death (I call this denial), hence, she does not have a will (I don’t have one either, but for a very different reason: procrastination). But, hey, she’s as healthy as a goat. She’s very active. She watches my nieces and nephews, all six of them, now five. She drives my sister-in-law to and from work everyday. She picks the children up from schools. She cooks and cleans the house like a maid. She hates to leave unclean dishes in the sink. And she grows her own garden.

She’s an early riser. She showers in the morning. She drinks coffee and tea and eat rice soup for breakfast.

She’s very independent-had to be since she was a child: Her father was brutally murdered for political reasons. Her mother was a hard worker; very active; but slow in her speech ability; unable to stand up for her children’s safety and wellbeing. She married my dad in her early twenties. He died early in their marriage. She was left with five children to care for. Shortly after my father’s death, she was forced into another marriage as a second wife-polygamy was legal in Laos-leaving her children behind to her in-laws (it was the cultural practice). She gave birth to another son, who died of malnutrition. Then, she lost her oldest son to illness. She lost her second husband in the Vietnam War. She fought her way back for custody of her children. Then, she was physically separated from my two brothers and sister-for the second time because our village was invaded: She was left to surrender her life to the Vietnam soldiers because I was too young to travel.

In 1980, she came to the United States with her two girls, leaving her sons behind in Laos. In the mid 80’s, she managed to sponsor her older son, after two years of battle with Immigration Services. A couple years after that, she sponsored her second son. Finally, the whole family was together again. But, a few months after he arrived, she lost him in a fatal car accident. She was devastated. But, she managed to hold herself up again for more of life’s surprises. She was indeed a very strong woman-still is.

She believes that life has too much to offer for one to contemplate death-after all that she’s been through. She makes herself stay strong and independent in fear of having to stay at a nursing home or being a burden to her children.

And, in all my life with her, I’ve never seen her put herself before her children: I remember staying in a Thai refugee camp: she had no money so she would take me around to Thai authorities begging for money to quench my cravings for candies and little things that required money. But, if she needed anything, she did not ask, beg or do anything that would cause her discomfort. She rarely cried in front of me, even when we were separated from my brothers and sister. She always stayed strong. She built her life around integrity. She was always giving and sharing, even in her lack. She was very frugal-still is. She was a great hostess for all her guests, including strangers. And, she remained single after the death of her second husband (there were many men who proposed to her) out of love for her children.

So for all of the above and more, she deserves to be my Valentine. Happy Valentine’s Day, Mom.