ikea

Ikea is one of my favorite places. I got a plate of swedish meatballs, mashed potatoes and lingon berries (sp?) for $2.50 because I happened to go during happy hour.

Everything I bought was under $20 (2 clocks, 1 closet organizer, 1 candle, 1 trashcan)

It's spacious. And cool.

There's a lot of places to sit (I am getting old, and also more sedentary. AHHHHH!)

There's a lot of cute rooms to gaze at and get inspiration from. And also to sit in and pretend its yours.

extravagance

This past week I was in Atlanta to help my sister move into her first college dorm. It threw me back to the first time I moved into my college apartment, all four girls' parents & family members are measuring walls, making lists of what to buy next from Ikea and Target, while the young ones are getting increasingly bored and dissatisfied by their nintendo DS's as more time drags on for them. That's exactly what it was like this time when Grace was moving in, minus the bored younger siblings, and that I was one of those "parents" making lists, assembling things and trying to impart tidbits of (what) knowledge I have so my sister will not be eaten alive by evildoers in college. They exist, you know. The evildoers. But stepping back, I saw my parents and their ... for lack of a better english word: 정성. Just to make sure that they could prepare my sister for any need she may have in the future while they are not there to immediately provide for them. My mom wanted to get her a seat cushion so her seat wouldn't be uncomfortable as she spends many hours studying at her desk in the future (in my head I smirked, probably more facebooking than studying at that desk! :P) my dad was willing to take a week off of work away from church just so my sister would be well-settled in. It did not matter how many trips they had to make back to Target just so that my sister would have everything they could possibly give her to prepare her for a successful and fun first year. And i know because they did the same for me, they still do the same for me. Though at times their 정성 may amount to more at certain times and less at others, it has always been the same heart. But if that is the heart of my earthly parents--the extravagance of our Father's lavishing love is triple, quadruple, sooo much more than that. He desires for our best, he wants the best for us. His love is rich and He wants to give from that rich, deep, extravagant love. It's odd isn't it? To ask for the best, it makes us feel selfish sometimes. Sometimes as Christians we keep our face to the ground, thinking all we must ever do is sacrifice and be afraid to ask for more, the best. I want to be able to ask God for the best, I want to ask for His lavishing upon me, that I may know and understand His extravagant love for me. I just want to ask and ask in expectation that He wants to give just because He loves me :]

old friends

Being in the midst of old friends is like flipping through the pages of a familiar book....

You know all the contents but it hits you in a new way each time