2/27: a small diet coke

sunday: day 2 of our life group chicago excursion.

plans to go have an early lunch at joy yee's were foiled by another massive breakfast made by my mom.  scrambled eggs, potatoes, steamed dumplings, and more zucchini bread was on the menu.  earlier that morning, i had specifically told my mom not to cook anything so that we could joy-yee-it in the early afternoon.  i should have known that when she was nodding, she wasn't actually listening to me - she was actually planning the breakfast menu in her head. 

i've been really feeling the churchwide BRPs lately.  sunday's was on exodus 33.12-18.  moses was pretty much nagging God for His presence to be with him and the Israelite people.  he would not let it go.  i think that was exactly the passage to read as our life group closed out our chicago trip this weekend.  even though we had a great day on saturday, we still needed to be desperate and hungry for God's presence sunday.  each and every single day, we need to be desperate for the glorious presence of God wherever we go.  just as nagging moses was.

with our initial plans foiled by mi madre, we headed over to chicago for one final tour.  stopped by the john hancock center.

i kept trying to educate my members about the great chicago fire as we passed by the water tower walking down the magnificent mile...but of course, history was the last thing on the members' minds.  "niketown, niketown!"  haha.

madness ensued soon after.

we definitely got a couple smirks and grins from several other customers.  

onto the apple store where we all basically checked our email.  even on this weekend retreat, we still couldn't quite get away from the world awaiting us back in ann arbor.   

no more stores on the magnificent mile after that.  our stomachs grumbled and one of the freshmen kept chanting, "Jet Li's, Jet Li's, Jet Li's!"  so joy yee's it was.

honestly, i'm not the biggest fan of joy yee's.  i haven't been blown away by the food in the past.  but there was this spicy seafood soup that just hit the spot for me, described by one of the freshmen as "a pot of kimchi juice."  idk what kind of kimchi they used b/c after one sip of that soup, i felt like a crazed pregnant woman.  i seriously licked that communal pot clean.  the memory of it is making my mouth water.

the ridiculously good "kimchi juice"

after we slaughtered one order of pineapple fried rice, we realized our grave mistake.  eunil quickly ordered a second before we turned into full-out savages

best bubble tea of the table: coconut cream freeze.  surprise win

i got an avocado milk tea because i thought bubble tea was like simple math.  a good thing + a good thing = 2 good things.  i like avocado.  i like milk tea.  so avocado milk tea must be the bomb.

avocado milk tea

bubble tea is not like simple math.

our table was an absolute mess after our plates were cleared.  i've noticed a trend with eating and this life group - for a full hour, we will go buck-wild on the food, stuffing ourselves with no regard to our surroundings.  its almost barbaric.  and after each plate is wiped clean, there is a satisfied lull, and with our stomachs filled with good food - as the saying goes - the good times roll.  if it wasn't for the fact that we had to drop off one our members at the airport, i'm sure we would have been there for another 2 hours, happily digesting in the midst of good conversation.

dropped joey off at o'hare.  learned that eunil is one of the best wingmen when it comes to driving.

we went to hmcc of chicago for sunday service.  something that i've been praying for is the provision of a spiritual community where i can continue to grow when i return back to chicago.  there are very few churches in the northern suburb area where i'm from, and from what one of my friends tells me, its hard to find a quality church for young single adults near our area.  as i was worshiping, listening to the sermon, and praying at hmcc of chicago, i was also asking God, "is this where you want me to be at this year?"  i dont want to automatically attend hmcc of chicago.  i want to go where God leads me.  May will be the start of a whole new season and chapter of my life, and im just not sure if hmcc of chicago is a part of that next part.  walking out of sunday service gave me a more definite answer in regards to hmcc of chicago, but i know that i need to do a bit more investigative digging when i come back.  hmm.  the thought of church-hopping makes me both excited and anxious at the same time.  HMCC of ann arbor is my spiritual home.  its all i really know.  so i'm excited to "try something new," but i'm also fearful i'll never find something quite like it again.

it was raining pretty hard, and as we departed chicago well into the evening, my life group members expressed their concerns: wasn't i tired?...i'd been driving around throughout the weekend.  i was concerned myself and predicted i'd need some source of caffeine.  because of the heavy rain and subsequent reduced speed, we were basically looking at a good 5-hour drive.  in the dark.  with passed-out passengers.  one of my members suggested a huge cup of coffee.  strangely enough, all i needed was a small diet coke from a mcdonald's in gary, indiana. 

a small diet coke.  that was all i needed.

several days ago, i wrote about how the annual "tiredness" from ministry had hit me like a freight train.  the funny thing is, all it took was a "small diet coke" to wake me up.  i thought i'd need weeks of morning prayer, weeks of guarded times of intimacy with God, weeks of uncompromising sabbaths.  nope.  all i needed was a small diet coke - one spring break weekend with a small fraction of my life group members - to wake me up and get me energized to finish the year off strong.  thank you so much, Jesus. 

surprisingly, the drive back was just as easy as the drive to chicago.  and my heart was swelling with just as much love.  the members stayed awake most of the drive to help keep me awake.  one freshman even gave me a head massage.  another continually fed me asian banana cheetos and gum.  i literally felt like these brothers had my back as i was driving.  and what's more, i felt like i was driving back home with my family.  there was this comfortable air in the car.  i hate silences because in the past, i've deemed all silences as awkward silences.  the only silence i've been remotely comfortable with are the silences between my family members.  and thats the kind of silence i felt in the car.  completely comfortable.  because they were family. 

there was another thing about the car ride that warmed my heart.  for most of the car ride, we were listening to my various worship music mixes.  and for most of those songs, we were all belting out at the top of our lungs.  we were tired and beat, but in the middle of the night, with the rain beating down on my humble sedan, we were worshiping the Lord our God with songs of praise.  hearing my members sing and worship on their own accord was honestly one of the most beautiful sounds i've ever heard. 

i came home from chicago at 4 am, tired, but not as exhausted as i had dreaded.  as i plopped onto my bed, i was filled with thankfulness.  i was grateful God had kept us safe while driving in unfavorable conditions.  i was grateful God had given us times of laughter, fun, and good conversation.  i was grateful God had built greater community among us.  i was grateful that He had answered all the prayers i had lifted up for the trip last week.  and i was grateful that all it took was a small diet coke to not only make it through but get my act together for the last 2 months ahead.