Erin!

I love spontaneity. It's one of my most favorite characteristics in people. That is why I am so blessed to have the friends I do!

My great-fantabulous friend Erin decided to be way random and come out to A-town to hang with us this last weekend! She made the decision Thursday and flew out Friday. I love it! She's just one of those tight friends that when you're together awesome convo's, crazy randomness, and INTENSE laughter is ever present.

I love ya, Erin, and I am SO glad you decided to come hang with us!

Texas Lingo

I've been living in the great state of Texas for about 5 months now, and within that time span, I've observed some new lingo that you just don't here in California. Here are some examples of what I'm talking about:

Y'all
Sentence: "Y'all are a hoot!"
Now, this one everyone knows is used, but more commonly in the south and hardly ever on the west coast. I absolutely refuse to use this and make a conscious effort to never make a contraction out of the words "you" and "all" and will always resort to "you guys."

Fixin'
Sentence: "I'm fixin to get me some chaps."
This word isn't even recognized by Wiki so that right there just proves it's not legit. I've never heard this word used like that before I came out here. I don't even really know how to correctly translate it. I'm thinking it's along the lines of "planning" to...whatever. Here I've always thought that "fixing" something meant to mend what is broken...boy was I wrong.

Yankee
Sentence: "The yankee accent is hard to understand."
That was the actual sentence I first heard that word used in that sense before. I was with work buddies Jessica and Erin. =) As they continued talking, I'm thinking in my head, "I never noticed the baseball team ever having a strong accent before..." Yankee refers to, I'm guessing, those in the north-eastern region or specifically New Yorkers. Now I know.

The absence of "the"
Sentence: "Take Loop 1 south and get off at Braker."
In CA, with all our freeways that are numerical (which is all of them), we institute a "the" in front of the number. "You take the 91 to the 57 and get on the 22." Now, here in Texas, when we say something along the lines of, "We live off the 1" it's usually quickly followed by, "AHHHAHAHAHAHA!!!!"... Got it; lose the "the."

Glad it's over

I promised I wouldn't write anything about this election. I didn't want to vote at all. I had hardly any faith in either candidates to do what they promised. I was so tired of all the email forwards spewing smack on each candidate. I knew I had to vote. This was the first time I really sought God for guidance in political matters. I did some research and for me, it came down to what does the Bible say about some of these matters that each Presidential candidate stands for. I voted based on that and not the person.

I came across this post from the Between Two Worlds blog. The author's words seem to come straight from my heart and mind in regards to the dilemma of this election. Of course, I'm not black and he is, but it was a dilemma for me anyways. But he goes even beyond that and I just love how he ends the article.

Please read this post by Eric Redmond titled "Living Soli Deo Gloria Under Obama."

My hope and prayer for us as Christians is that we don't put all our faith and hope in one man to change our nation but that we stand up and BE the change in this world. All glory to HIM!

little brother

I love my "little" brother! Growing up 6 years apart Andrew and I had our fights just like normal siblings; I was put in charge of babysitting him and he thought he didn't have to listen to me. He aggravated me!

After I graduated high school and came back from living in Japan, our relationship grew to be a lot closer. He wasn't the annoying younger brother and I wasn't the nagging older sister anymore. We have the same exact humor, we love to collaborate on the best ways to embarrass our mother, and we have the ability to make each other laugh the hardest.

Andrew is in the Coast Guard and is serving in Iraq right now. I know, what is the coast guard doing over seas? They're supposed to be guarding our coast; not other coasts. When I first heard that he would for sure be going over, of course I was filled with anxiety and worry. Not my little brother. Sidenote: If you're the oldest child, you may understand this feeling of having to protect and worry for the safety of your younger sibling(s). You feel like they are your responsibility ... and apparently you feel that your parents are your responsibility also. He has been able to call a few times since he's been over there so it's been awesome to know that he is okay and doing well. He will be back in the States in December and I'm so excited that we'll all be together as a family for Christmas!

If you guys think about it, I would love it if you could keep my brother in your prayers as he's serving!
-Pray that solid Jesus loving people will come into his life
-Pray for safety and protection over him
-Pray that he holds strong to God's love for him during the hard times

Love you, Andrew!

Owies

I made a yummy dish tonight for dinner. But this yummy dish didn't come without it's trials. I grated my thumb and then I proceed to burn my hand. It hurts...

Can't get much better than this

My perfect Halloween evening:

Hope everyone has a safe and fun Halloween!

There's High School Musical...

...then there's:

Kids and Friends and Weddings, Oh My!

Last weekend I flew out to CA, yet again, for another wedding. I've known Jamie since junior high and it was a joy to see her marry such an amazing guy like Doug. Congrats to the both of you and I'm so excited to come visit you guys in Nash-vegas!

Each time I've gone back to CA since the move to Austin (which has been one other time) it becomes a marathon of how many people I can see in one weekend. I love it though! I was able to see the kids I love the most (Belinsky's), old co-workers (the Asians), and old buddies (the hot ladies). Enjoy a snippet of the weekend!

Cali Times from Mariko on Vimeo.

Wiki

Confession: I’m addicted to Wikipedia. We are so tight that we are on a nickname basis. Wiki has become my BFF as of late. I find myself spending time with Wiki when I have random questions populating my mind. Wiki hardly ever fails me.

Here is a list of what Wiki has educated me on today:

Lizzie Borden:
Lizzie Borden took an axe
And gave her mother forty whacks.
And when she saw what she had done
She gave her father forty-one.

Tupac Shakur: "Shakur's body was cremated. Some of his ashes were later mixed with marijuana and smoked by members of Outlawz." I find this extremely touching and expect all my closest loved ones to do the same with my ashes when I leave this earth.

Socrates: "Socrates realized that the Oracle was correct, in that while so-called wise men thought themselves wise and yet were not, he himself knew he was not wise at all which, paradoxically, made him the wiser one since he was the only person aware of his own ignorance."

Salmonella: "Salmonella antibodies were first found in Malawi children in research published in 2008."

Nicene Creed:

We believe in one God, the Father Almighty, the maker of heaven and earth, of
things visible and invisible.
And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the begotten of God the Father, the Only-begotten, that is of the essence of the Father.
God of God, Light of Light, true God of true God, begotten and not made; of the very same nature of the Father, by Whom all things came into being, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible.
Who for us humanity and for our salvation came down from heaven, was incarnate, was made human, was born perfectly of the holy virgin Mary by the Holy Spirit.
By whom He took body, soul, and mind, and everything that is in man, truly and not in semblance. He suffered, was crucified, was buried, rose again on the third day, ascended into heaven with the same body, [and] sat at the right hand of the Father.
He is to come with the same body and with the glory of the Father, to judge the living and the dead; of His kingdom there is no end.
We believe in the Holy Spirit, in the uncreated and the perfect; Who spoke through the Law, prophets, and Gospels; Who came down upon the Jordan, preached through the apostles, and lived in the saints.
We believe also in only One, Universal, Apostolic, and [Holy] Church; in one baptism in repentance, for the remission, and forgiveness of sins; and in the resurrection of the dead, in the everlasting judgement of souls and bodies, and the Kingdom of Heaven and in the everlasting life.

Apostle's Creed:

I believe in God, the Father Almighty,
creator of heaven and earth.
I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord.
He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary.
He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried.
He descended to the dead.
On the third day He rose again.
He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Holy Catholic Church, the communion of Saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. AMEN.

I heart Needtobreathe

I got to see one of my most favorite bands of all time tonight...FREE. Needtobreathe opened for Gavin DeGraw at UT so Jamie and I went down after work to partake in this musical sweetness. Needtobreathe are an AWESOME band from South Carolina and have this southern appeal to them on stage and in their music. Check them out!!!




Needtobreathe from Mariko on Vimeo.

Persecution: expect it

I'm always amazed at how those who are doing the most good in this world are the ones who are treated the worse.

This is from an email I received from China Aid:

PSB Officers Beat Pastor's Son
Around noon on October 16, Zhang Jian received an urgent phone call from his mother. Plainclothes Public Security Bureau (PSB) officers had broken into her upstairs apartment and were throwing all the family's belongings out into the street: "When I got there, I saw my mom lying on the ground being knocked down by these thugs ... I tried to use my body to protect my mom from being hurt by them. Then this group of 15 officers immediately surrounded me and started beating my head and body with iron bars and said, 'We need to teach you a lesson as a troublemaker.'"

The violent attack lasted 25 minutes. Authorities persecute this family simply because they are Christians. Their ministry to orphans and house churches - ordinary Christian activities - are considered crimes in China. Zhang Jian was severely injured in the attack and needs immediate surgery. His family is now in hiding with nowhere to live. His father is missing, believed to be kidnapped by authorities.

Brother Yun says in his book Heavenly Man that Christians in non-persecuted areas should not pray for the persecution to stop, but to pray for the Christians in the persecuted parts of the world to stand firm in their faith and endure their trials with strength that can only come from the Lord. He also reminds us to pray for the salvation of those doing the persecuting and for them to come to know God and learn to love Him. This is coming from a man who has gone through some of the most horrendous pain and persecution because of his love for Jesus. We as followers of Jesus should expect persecution and pray that when it does happen, we will stand firm to the end and hold on to the truth and love of God.

Weekend in Corpus

This weekend, roomie Jamie and I went to Corpus to visit with our good friend Jaci and her parents. I'd never been to coast in Texas so it was fun to go driving along there, take a boat tour, walk along the beach, and eat some good sea-grub!

Thanks for having us come hang with you, Jaci! Love ya tons!


Corpus Christi from Mariko on Vimeo.