One Big Hot Mess

Whenever I hear the word "justice," I always follow the word with "league." As a child, I was constantly watching Justice League on Cartoon Network. It was probably one of my favorite shows. Justice has always had a part in my life, whether it be in the form of cartoons or in the form of punishment for poor behavior.

Justice is fair behavior/treatment. It is getting what you deserve. I always want to see others get what they deserve, but when it comes to me, I often wish and hope that someone will show me grace and mercy. Yet, the world is balanced because of justice. How unfair would it be if someone was punished for their wrong doings and I was given a free pass? Yeah, Yeah, Yeah, Life's unfair, I know that. But God isn't. Because He is a just God, He cannot allow for our sin to go unnoticed and unpunished. God provided a solution for us. He sent his son to die for our sins. And because of that we are able to have a relationship with God.

Jesus came to the earth to bridge the gap that separates us from God. He brought peace to the world. In a society where violence surrounds us, it is difficult to live peacefully. Yet, it is our mission to strive for peace in our lives, whether it be in the relationships we have with our friends or family members.

Being a teenager, I have experienced many instances of chaos with my friends and family members. I struggle daily to be selfless in my relationships with others. When I focus a lot of attention on myself, I fail to reflect Christ. I have found myself constantly trying to repair my relationships, in hopes that I can savage whats left of the relationship.

When we are unable to have peace in our lives, we are a hot mess. Let's be honest, the whole world is one big hot mess. We are in war. There is violence throughout societies across the globe. There is tension in the Middle East. There is tension within Congress. There is tension between friends and enemies. But, because we are Christians, we are part of our own "justice league." We are not super heroes, but we are God's disciples who are to carry out shalom in the world. Our mission is to be God's representatives and to bring peace to those around us.

I challenge you (and myself) to take this coming week to forgive those we need to forgive. To take the initiative to repair our broken relationships with friends. We may not be friends with every person we encounter, but by accepting and loving others, we can carry out shalom. Keep each other accountable! Do you need prayer for wisdom in mending your relationships? Ask a friend! Ask a counselor! Ask an officer! We are definitely always here for you guys!

Sam's blog post - really long. but please read. please.

Hello people of Hikoi! 

For those of you who don't know yet, the officers and counselors of Hikoi are using this blog to write about well, anything we want. The topic is soo general and it is soo hard for me to pick a certain thing to write about so I my plan is to write a bit about what I think of our current justice unit and my current spiritual life. So here I go...

I guess before I say anything, I want to share what's been going on in my spiritual life. And really, if I was going to share one thing that's happened, I might as well share my entire testimony. But that's a long story and I'm pretty sure most of you have stopped reading by now. So I'll cut it short and say this: I got baptized on June 1, 2014 and as of September 2014, I was already getting lazy with my devos and my prayer life consisted of a lot of talking with not a lot of listening. So what changed? Pretty much my laziness and school :/ And, like most high schoolers, I got caught up in school and homework. Between homework, dance, and naps (don't hate), I had been pushing off devos longer and longer. 

The big game changer for me was WiRE (which is why I encourage everyone to go cuz it's bomb). I went up expecting something great to happen (even though people always say to go up with no expectations but personally I think it's okay to expect something to happen because I know God will do something) and God really showed me how yes, time is of the essence. My time shouldn't be spent watching 6 hours straight of videos or 3 hours straight of ILovePasta (play this game guys), but reading these stories that I was so unfamiliar with in the bible. This is something that I still struggle with now, but I'm working on it. As 2015 came, my commitment for the year was to do devos everyday. I know that for a lot of you, doing that is totally normal but for me, it was like. Doing devos. Every. Single. Day. It was daunting and intimidated me because I knew I struggled so much with this before but I took the challenge knowing that it is something that should be done. One month into this commitment and I'm happy to say that I've done my devos and my reading. :D 

But why did I just waste your time and make you read all about the last few months of mine? I really wanted to share this because I want to encourage all of you who, whether your relationship with God is going really well right now (just like me after baptism) or whether you're in a phase where the only time you touch your bible is when you're at church (me just a few months ago), to challenge yourself and to go beyond what you think is possible for you. God is worth it. 

Haha okay so this has gone on a lot longer than I thought it was but bear with me as I connect this really briefly to what's going on in Hikoi. About a month ago, Jonny told the oc about his plan for the year and the topic of justice. And honestly, all I knew about justice was that that was the thing that the superheros always talk about. This unit has stuck out to me because it reminds me that God deserves to be praised because of what he did. It reminds me that it is only right for me to love God because of the way he treats me. It reminds me that I should love the things that God loves because that is what He has called me to do. And all of this is right and just. 

OKAY. So I just spend 27 minutes typing whatever was going through my mind and I'm sorry if you stopped reading or if this doesn't make sense. But like a regular student, I'm not going to proofread this so just tell me if there are mistakes lol. Mkay thanks for reading :)  

OH! Okay and I realized that I never actually told you guys what the lies were in my 10 truths and 5 lies post (http://fcbc-hikoi.blogspot.com/2014/10/hi-friends-sam-here-how-well-do-you.html). Go check that out if you haven't before looking at the answers!

So finally. Here are my 5 lies:

1. One time while I was dancing, I fell and dislocated my knee. When my teacher came to check up on me, she popped my knee back into place and I never went to the hospital or a doctor. (sorry my life isn't this interesting or painful)
2. I once saw Xiumin and Kris from EXO at the airport in a van. They were in LA for a concert and about to leave and I was at the airport dropping off a family member.(I wish. but this is my friend's story)
3. I like the taste of water. Most people say that water doesn’t have a taste, but water does. (WATER IS SO DISGUSTING)
4. I love to play just dance.  My favorite dance is The Way. (I don't like just dance. or physical movement :/ )
5. I once tripped down an escalator that was going up. (guys im not THAT clumsy)

All Night Small Groups!

Hey everyone! Sorry for not posting last week, but here's the icymi for tonight! 

Because Denise covered the topic of "shalom" last week, out activity tonight was an extension of that. In small groups, we went around to different stations to read articles. These articles covered things ranging from ISIS to poverty throughout the world. We prayed over these topics and the world as well as our world. From this, we were able to go outside of our personal bubbles of what happens around us and focus on the big things that are happening around the world. We gathered back into the large room and after some announcements, we split into small groups for the rest of the night.

ANNOUNCEMENTS!

- Membership was due today to Melissa Chow. If you forgot your money or your forms, contact Melissa and try bringing it on Sunday. 

- T-shirts! Naomi Low is in charge of the HiKoi T-shirts. The design and prices will be announced on the Hikoi facebook page this week. There are different prices for members and non-members. The last day to sign up for a t-shirt and pay will be on Friday, February 27 so don't delay! 

Balloons, Lemon squares, Justice, and Small Groups!

ICYMI:

Hello! Tonight, we started off HiKoi with prayer led by Hannah Wong! With our SG's, we battled against each other to keep our balloons from being popped by the other teams! We celebrated January birthdays with lemon squares and facial masks/socks. Jonny spoke about God's characteristic of justice and how that affects us. We reflected on our lives and prayed with one another! Then it was off to Small Groups!

Announcements! 

1. MEMBERSHIP: due 1/30/2015; turn in your pledge form (signed by 1 counselor and 1 officer), questionnaire, and $5 membership dues! If you have any questions, comment below or find any officer for answers! Benefits include: reduced prices on WiRe, Senior Honor Night tickets, and more!

2. BE ON TIME! Try your best to be at HiKoi on time! HiKoi starts every Friday at 7pm! 

1/4/15 @ 1:30-- Denise says, "Justin... these contractions feel different. I think we need to go to the hospital."

1/4/15 @ 4:15 AM

Dr. Ivery told us, "You're going to have a c-section within the hour."

1/4/15 @ 5:12 AM

Rachel Evelyn Lee was born!

1/5/15-1/16/15, 24-7
Although our blog posts are suppose to be about the night of Hi-Koi, I can only offer these pictures as substitute.  Hope to see you all soon.  I'm praying for all of you!

This is one shot from her first professional photo shoot.

So far, Rachel does three things well:  1. Sleep

2. Raise her hands

3. Sit on the diaper changing pad

ReWired and Retired

HI HIKOI.

So I guess the blog posts are going to be about the past hikoi of the week now. Last week of HiKoi was ReWire night, and in the beginning, I was actually a little disappointed. I think not being in the mountains definitely gave the cabin time a different dynamic, and I guess I was hoping for something amazingly deep and awe inspiring. It's so hard for me to remember that God's presence doesn't mean waterfalls down faces. Something my brother always says is "If God is there, that's enough." A lot of the advice I give to people is stolen from older and wiser people, and I've said the If God is there line to multiple people. I guess I understood it more and it kind of sunk in last Friday. Yeah. Oh and I loved the testimonies. So honest <3

Anyway that's the ReWire part of the title. The second part of the title is equally as exciting. IT'S 2015. MEANING, FOR ME, DONE WITH HIGH SCHOOL. I mean not literally done yet but mentally I'm pretty done. I'm so excited to retire from my high school career and move on to college. I'm so psyched for what God has in store for me there, and I'm committing a lot of time figuring out why I believe again to not be swayed in college. Dgjbdsdhoirs so excited. Yea. That's it. :)

Animal Puns For The Week:

You're like no otter.
You're argument is irrelephant.
Owl always be by your side.
You've cat to be kitten me.
That's the sealiest thing I've ever heard.
Whale whale whale, what have we got here?

Ok. That's it. Thank you very mochi for reading and thanks a latte for laughing or groaning at the beautiful puns.

-Jonny Lee

REWIRE

Hey HiKoi!

Tonight we came back to Hikoi for the first time in 2015! In honor of the first week back since winter retreat, we had ReWiRe night. We started the night with worship led by Christiana Wong. Afterwards, we had an open mic time sharing our blessings and experiences from Wire. Then we split off into our small groups to share more about what God showed us up in the mountains and pray for one another. Lastly, we split up by grade and gender for "cabin time" for the rest of the night. 

ALSO! Don't forget that HiKoi membership is due by the end of January to Melissa Chow! There are three papers to fill out and you must pray with an officer and counselor. 

See you all next week!