In Loving Memory of Phillip Pae

Hey guys! im really sorry i haven't been updating hahaha. i didn't have internet in my room at school since winter break and my laptop is kinda being frustrating so i don't really have my own computer at home. im on my sisters right now! so praise God that i can still get on somehow haha. actually did you know u can surf the web on ps3?! i mean...i always saw the internet app but i didn't know it was like the WHOLE internet hahaha. so i can kinda do that too! but anywayssss...
So this past sunday night, my good friend phil pae passed away unfortunately. He's from my hyung's (older brother/friend) church in south jersey. chpc to be specific. i knew him for a few years because i played drums for their summer retreat. i knew phil was a really great kid from the beginning. and i really mean that. so basically what happend was andrew, phil's older brother, pastor paul, and phil were going home that night. pastor paul usually lets andrew drive sometimes ever since he got his license in january. while andrew was driving, he dozed off for a second and the car started to spin a little and andrew paniced and accelerated more. this caused the car to spin out pretty bad and hit a tree off the side of the road. andrew and paul were almost perfectly ok since they had their seatbelts on in the front of the car but phil's body was thrown out of the back window. He died on impact. I attended the viewing service yesterday night to say my goodbyes to my brother. He was only 17, a junior in high school.
He really really loved the Lord with all his heart. and i can say that with confidence. He loved everyone actually haha. He was just an all around great guy and the reason im telling you all of this is for a few reasons. one, he was just a high schooler. younger than some of us. and it goes to show that this kind of stuff can happen to anybody. haha im not trying to scare you guys but just really think about it. i really thought about how much i've given my life to the Lord so far in my life. of course there's always more time we can give to our God. So i challenge myself and all of you to do that. To give every last bit of energy to the Lord and His kingdom. Not because we might die tomorrow and we want a sure way to get into heaven, but because He deserves it. God deserves for us to live for Him. I never really knew what it was like for someone close to me to die but Jesus our Lord and Savior died. and he didn't just die. he died for US. for each and every one of us. that we can have a relationship with God because of that death. that even though we don't deserve it at all, Jesus' blood covers us so we can approach and get to know our God. and because of the most important death EVER, God deserves everything we have to be given to him. Phil did that and even though he's younger than i am, he really is an inspiration to me. Secondly, i realized just how precious the gift of salvation is. i could probably go on and on about salvation but the one aspect of it that i've come to be thankful for is the power it has to overcome some of the biggest things. Phil was saved (praise the Lord!). because he had salvation, we don't need to be sad for long! He is in paradise right now. resting with our Lord. and salvation is such a powerful gift that when we or our friends have it. we don't even have to fear DEATH! phil may be gone from this world but he surely is alive. that's really amazing to me. that even when someone dies, we don't have to worry. idk how else to say it right now but i hope and pray that you guys can see the gift of salvation as i do right now. hopefully it won't take what it took for me to get to this understanding. Life's too short to take our time and go at an easy pace. we need to get a little uncomfortable for God and RUN after Him.

For his anger lasts only a moment,
but his favor lasts a lifetime;
weeping may remain for a night,
but rejoicing comes in the morning.
Psalm 30:5
I'm gonna see phil in heaven so therefore i rejoice! you'll all see him too and i know you'll love him as well :)

rest in paradise brother. i'll miss you. we'll catch up later ;)

sorry if it's a little morbid. hahahah. God really works in mysterious ways. but He does work.
This is justin kim, and Jesus fulfills my life.

Iron Chef Competition Winners!

Dear JFML Fam,

I am proud to announce that WE HAVE WON THE IRON CHEF COMPETITION !! A shout out to VERISON and PHAMILLY for their awesome yummalicious dishes as well! It was a fun night and thanks to all those who helps out cooking/shopping & providing a place for us :) Here are some pictures from last night :

cooking at Andys! Dave is GLOWING

preparing the adobo sauce & skewers

mmmmmm

Chicken Adobo Skewers

The Rice Ball Masters

Garlic Rice balls with Spam

Final Presentation! Ta daaa!

Team Filipino! Best stuff in the world!! mmm!

BONUS video clip!

Please join us THIS THURSDAY as we enjoy our FREE CHECKERS DINNER prize!!

See yall later! and have a GREAT week :)

My name is Sharon Suk , and JESUS fulfills my LIFE.

LAZY LAZY LAZY

HELLO EVERYONE!

This week was a rough week. I had so much to do. It is kind of crazy how like I'm so freaking lazy! I really hate the fact that I have been so lazy not wanting to do anything. I took my Organic Chemistry Exam Wednesday and I BOMBED it. Not bombed in a good way but like bombed as in i think i definitely failed it. Like I honestly don't know whats wrong with me. I have been in such a funk lately. Usually Spring Semester is my best semester between fall and spring, yet it seems the way things are going its a bad semester. It's so weird. Any who, it is very stressful to think that i did so horrible in this exam, but then it is my fault for not really studying. Like i have been so lazy in studying, i know that I'm not dumb, yet i still have the habit that i had in high school. In high school, my high school was too easy for me even though I took the higher classes, so i would purposely fail exams to make myself study, and i feel like i still do that. And it kind of pisses me off at the fact that i still have that habit. and it honestly is NOT good in college. But that exam was a wake up call to me, where now these next month or so until classes end, i am going to STUDY my butt off, and yes I WILL BE STUDYING COMPLETELY! I know everyone does not seem me as much now since i am MIA, i apologize, but i need to take myself away from distractions and such. I hope that you guys can pray for me, that I will not be so lazy anymore and that I will focus on studies and such... that would be amazingly awesome.

But in the good light of the week, I saw how much I am lacking God right now. I mean everything happens for a reason right? maybe this is something that's suppose to wake me up and make me realize that since I have been drifting away from him that's why I am in such a weird funk that has never happened before. But honestly God is so amazing, its crazy how I keep falling off the path, but then I really love the fact that GOD is always so forgiving, that he is willing to help anyone get back on the path. Honestly PRAISE THE LORD. he really is good! this whole fact of laziness made me realize how my relationship with God is similar to the way i am at school this semester. That funk i am in, honestly is due to the fact of my laziness and lack of effort and lack of doing anything. AND i still have a problem with not believing in myself. I need to trust myself believe in myself and be able to trust God, to make my paths open for me. this whole idea is scary, how trusting him can be so hard, because i never know how to trust. actually I do not know how to trust. WE NEEED TO TRUST IN THE LORD WITH ALL OUR HEART MIND AND SOUL!!!!

I ALSO JUST WANTED TO SAYYY GOOD JOB JIMMY & MELISSA <3 you guys did well today. I'm so proud of you guys hehe.

HAVE A FABULOUS WEEEKENDD<33

This is JENNYI & JESUS FULFILLS MY LIFE!

Pictures!

HI FAM!

Took some pictures this weekend that i wanted to share with yall!

Jimmy's Birthday:

trick MAFIA game of "keep jimmy alive!"

SURPRISE!!

TWO CAKES FOR B-DAY BOY!

FIVE GUYS employee card :)

brotherly loovvee :)

Sunday Lunch @ New Dehli:

on the yellow cheese bus to church!

The Brothers!

The Sisters!

YUM YUM YUM :D

thaaaats all folks! :)

Power of Prayer

Dear Brothers & Sisters,

How are you all? I'm sad that the blog has not been updated in weeks! Have you all forgot about it? :( I'm also sad that I have not seen many of you recently.. it's been such a long time.. Plus we only have 5 or 6 more small groups till the end of this year.. :(

Maybe it's the rain, but im feeling kind of lifeless and exhausted today. What an ugly start to a week after the beautiful weekend that we just had! But if it weren't for these rainy days, we wouldn't be able to appreciate the sunny ones as much as we did right? :)

I just wanted to quickly update the blog and say THANK YOU to all of you that prayed for my family. Our family is doing MUCH better already and there is no doubt in my mind that it is through the power of PRAYER.

His answer to our prayers may not always be YES but sometimes it is no, or wait. When its not that immediate YES, we feel discouraged and afraid that maybe He is not listening. But Brothers & Sisters, He IS! and He will give you accordingly in His time what is BEST for you.

Be encouraged my family! Our God is ALIVE and WORKING for our GOOD. So NEVER lose sight of him, ALWAYS pray, and praise Him with every breath you take!!

I miss you all and hope to see you soon!

My name is Sharon Suk and through the thick & thin, Jesus Fulfills MY LIFE !

Prayers Please :)

Dear Family,

I'm hurting a lot. I cannot go into detail of exactly what I'm going through but it is about my parents back home in jersey. It's been this way ever since I could remember, but for them it's been 25 years now. I have been praying since I knew how to pray but God has not yet lifted it from our shoulders. God says that through suffering he builds character and brings us closer to Him and I do believe it to be true. However over 20 years of it makes it hard to remain faithful. Especially when you are sick spiritually and physically. I'm sorry for being vague but I still ask for your prayers for my family. That we will remain faithful to God and keep that heart to be able to BELIEVE that this suffering is for our good.

I'm so thankful I have you all in my life. God truly reminds me through you, that I have family of sisters and brothers I can rely on. Whether you know it or not, he has used each one of you to comfort me and bring smiles in the toughest times. Thank you for your love and prayers. If I don't get to see you before spring break, I hope you all have a great break! & try to update during the break since you'll have more time than you would during school!

I'll miss you all very much :)

Although I cannot comprehend this pain, because I believe that God loves me, I can confidently say that My name is Sharon Suk and Jesus Fulfills my life.

ps: read richards story below me! it's awesome :)

THE GOD-SIZED HOLE

okay. here's a little story by Donny Cho that he shared with us in a little book...
this story is called "THE GOD-SIZED HOLE"

There once lived a people-a people not-so-different from you and me, in a town not-so-different from yours, in a country, not-so-different from the one you and I live in. There were all sorts of people in this town: there were big people and small people, beautiful people and ugly people, people with big hands and people with small hands, people with long hair and people with short hair, smart people and not-so-smart people, rich people and poor people, loud people and quiet people, and, well, you get the point.

In this town, lived a boy-a boy not-so-different from other people like yourself, except for one thing-this boy had a SUPER-HUGE, GIANT, ENORMOUS, GREAT, BIG HOLE right in the middle of his heart, and it hurt to even look at it (you can only imagine). Sometimes, the boy tried to cover it up. When he dressed, he wore thick clothing to protect this super-huge-giant, enormous, great big hole in his heart, but that never worked. The clothing would just get swallowed up by this super-huge-giant, enormous, great big hole (weird). He would try to buy the nicest clothes he could find-"Maybe that would work," he would tell himself. Although the finest of clothing would work for a while, and although other people would praise him for his style and fashion, eventually, just as he suspected, the clothes would only make the super-huge-giant, enormous, great big hole seem wider.
After all, we're not just talking about a speck, here. We're talking about a super-huge-giant, enormous, great big hole right in the middle of his heart; no matter what he tried to do to cover it up, it was always there-and it showed. And it hurt-even to look at it.

He decided to study harder-to understand how to get rid of the hole. The boy studied, and studied, and studied, and studied. Eventually, he was accepted into the greatest of colleges, and he become one of the smartest people the world ever knew. But, the more he studied this super-huge-giant, enormous, great big hole right in the middle of his heart, he realized he would never be able to get to the bottom of it; the hole was too deep and too vast for him to fully understand. Although it felt good to be a smart person, it never helped him to get rid of the super-huge-giant, enormous, great big hole in his heart.
After all, we're not just talking about some ordinary hole, here. We're talking about a super-huge-giant, enormous, great big hole-right in the middle of his heart; no matter what he tried to do to figure it out, all the knowledge in the world wasn't enough to solve his problem.

And so, he did what he should've done in the first place. He sought a doctor. "The job of the doctor is to help solve problems like this," the boy though to himself. The thought gave him a lot of hope. And so, the boy went to one of the best doctors in the whole world, in one of the best hospitals in the whole world. The doctor examined this super-huge-giant, enormous, great big hole right in the middle of his heart. He examined him for hours, and hours, and hours, and hours.But, the doctor was puzzled. "I don't unzuh-stanz it," he said (the doctor was from another country- a really smart country). "You have a big problem, here, but i cannot zolvez it. Ze hole is zo big!" The boy was disappointed. He muttered, "I could've told you that myself. A few days later, the boy received a super-huge, giant, enormous, great, big medical bill.

What was he to do? He spent his days, and his nights, looking for an answer. Some people told him to fill the hole up with gold coins. So, the boy worked feverishly to make lots and lots of money-after all, he was one of the smartest people in the whole (no pun intended) world. But, it didn't work. The coins weighed him down, and also gave him heartburn. And although he could buy nice cars, and big houses, and go anywhere he wanted, those things only distracted him for a little while; every night when he would go to sleep, he would hear his heart beating, and the empty beat would remind him of the super-huge-giant, enormous, great big hole in his heart.

Some people told him to get married. "Having a wife will help you forget about your little problem," the old men of his town would say. So, the boy made some friends-after all, he had tons of money, and was the smartest, nicest-dressed, healthiest person he knew, and those things always distracted other people from seeing his super-huge, giant, enormous problem. He eventually fell in love-it felt really good to be in love. "Maybe this is it," he exclaimed. "She is the answer!" But, as time went by, the boy grew discouraged. The closer he grew to his girlfriend, he began to see that she also had a super-huge-giant, enormous, great big hole right in the middle of her heart! He would look at her heart, and poke fun at it, and she would look at his, and ridicule him. Both of them realized that being together didn't make the super-huge-giant, enormous, great big holes in their hearts go away; the holes only grew larger. Oh, the despair! They both broke down and cried.


The boy was helpless. He started to reason with himself. "There is nothing we can do. No clothing can cover us. No intelligence can save us. No doctor can heal us. No amount of money can purchase a solution. No relationship can help us forget. There is nowhere we can hide, and nowhere we can go to fill this super-huge-giant, enormous, great big hole right in the middle of our hearts."

Just then, a man approached the boy, who was wallowing in despair. "What's the matter?" "It's no use trying to cover it up-look, I have a super-huge-giant, enormous, great big hole right in the middle of my heart, and I am helpless to find something that will fill it completely, and I tried everything. It's disgusting, and scary, and empty, and painful. I don't know what to do, so I figured I would just cry for a while (sniff-sniff)."
The man looked at the super-huge-giant, enormous, great big problem, but didn't frown, nor wince, nor turn away in disgust. "There is a name for your condition," he diagnosed. "You mean, you've seen this before?" asked the boy, with curiosity rushing the blood back into his pale white face. "Seen it before? Look around-" The boy turned to survey the town, and then he saw it-everyone-big people and small people, beautiful people and ugly people, people with big hands and people with small hands, people with long hair and people with short hair, smart people and not-so-smart people, rich people and poor people, loud people and quiet people, and well, you get the point-everyone had the same super-huge-giant, enormous, great big hole right in the middle of their hearts, and they were doing everything they could to fill it.

They tried to fill their hearts with all sorts of things:
Some people ate, some people dieted.
Some people sang loudly,
while others sat quieted.
Some folks were king, while others were rude.
Some acted rough, while others were smooth.
Some went to church-and did what was right.
Some folks cared less-to their delight.
No matter their manner-they all had one goal,
To hopelessly fill their super-huge, giant,
enormous hole, great, big hole-
right in the middle of their hearts.

The man had a name for the boy's situation. "It's a super-huge-giant, enormous, great big hole, and it was created by sin. And it can never be filled, because it's a GOD-sized you've been searching all your life to fill it with all sorts, of things, but all those things put together will never be able to fill this hole in your heart. In fact, as big as that hole appears, it's even bigger than that0it's so big that you can't see the end of it. It's a God-sized hole, and only God Himself can fill it."
"Then, I am doomed, because God would never care for a pea-sized boy like me," The boy confessed. But, the man assured, "You are not doomed. In fact, God made a way for people like you-people like me-to be filled." As he began to share his story, the boy noticed that this man didn't have a hole in his heart-his heart was completely, totally, utterly whole (what a difference a "w" makes)! The man told the true story of Jesus, God's own Son, who was born with a perfect heart. Jesus was the only Person ever born who didn't have a hole in his heart (because He was sinless and perfect in every way). But, He came with a purpose. On the cross, Jesus became sin (2 Corinthians 5:21) for us. In other words, on the cross, Jesus took the God-sized hole in our hearts (punctured by our sin)...so that He could give us His own heart. And God sent Jesus out of His deep love, even for pea-sized people like us.

The boy, upon hearing these words, softened to the voice of the man. The words gave him hope, and took away his fear. The finest clothes could never give him the covering that a complete heart could. No amount of knowledge was able to accomplish what one word of wisdom from the man was able to do. The best of doctors could not give him the heart transplant he needed. The world's riches couldn't purchase what was offered to him for free. The deepest relationship could never fill the void that is left when one didn't know Jesus. Beyond the size of the hole in his heart, the boy was overwhelming with joy that a God that is even bigger than the God-sized crater left in the boy's heart could still love him so. He just wanted to know Jesus-the perfect heart that was traded in for his sinful, empty one. The boy exclaimed, "I want to know more about Jesus, sir." "I will introduce Him to you; you can meet Him yourself," replied the man. The boy sprung up, and trotted off with the man-and as he walked away, what was once a "God-sized hole" already began to close.

So, the next time you feel empty, or when you mess up real bad, or when you make your parents sad, or when you try to hide away from people because you did something you were ashamed of-or when you feel jealous because people have nicer clothes, or more money than you-or when you feel lonely because you have trouble making friends-don't look to a doctor-after all, it's because your sin has left a "God-sized hole" inside your heart, too. But, God is calling you. Look to someone you love who might be able to tell you more about Jesus-as you come to know Him, you'll come to trust in the super-huge-giant, enormous, great, big thing that Jesus did for you, so that you can be found in Him, as He lives in you.
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This story is something that I look back upon from time to time, I am looking at it right now and wrote it to you also because even though I forget this sometimes, I know that there is always a super-huge-giant, enormous, great big hole that is being mended. And whenever I begin to feel that emptiness or loneliness, it feels as if the hole that is being tended to is being ripped wide open again. I keep straying from God and feeling lonely because I KEEP putting things right in my heart instead of God and as a result, my heart just sucks it up and the emptiness returns. I can never be able to love God if something else is tugging at my heart causing me to take a wrong turn or making me lose sight of Him...

But. However. Yet. On the other hand.

God's love never fails. His love for us has overcome our selfishness. our shallowness. our loneliness.

God.
Redeems.
Everything.

There is no questioning or arguing this and no way to ever change this. He puts our sin as far as the east is to the west and remembers it no more. our everlasting, gracious, merciful, loving, unfailing, and perfect God has saved us from the most deadliest thing of all. ourselves. Although we may fail in EVERY SINGLE aspect of our lives, He redeems us. Although we put other things at the center of our hearts. He redeems it. Although we may not love God, He redeems us because He knows that we are broken and helpless and, though we want to give Him all of ourselves, we are unable to. We are unable to truly love God. BUT. God redeems us through His perfect Son and our greatest treasure of grace and mercy.

This is Richard O and, I am so glad that I can say this even with a broken heart, Jesus fulfills my life

God is good ALL THE TIME!