Redo_SY_writing

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TABLE OF CONTENT

Cheer Up, Mom and Dad! ………………………………………….. P. 3
The Power of Praying Mom ……………………………………….. P. 7
My Unforgettable Trip to Jerusalem …………………………… P. 8
Emmanuel …………………………………………………………………….P. 12
The Privilege of Suffering …………………………………………….P. 15

Cheer Up, Mom and Dad!

By Susan Ying

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Curtis was officially inducted as a church member

Couple Sundays ago marked a milestone in my younger son, Curtis’, life! He
was official inducted as a church member; he’d proclaimed before God and
the people that he will be a Christ follower from these days onward! My
heart is overwhelmingly bursting with joy! Oh, how faithful and merciful my
daddy God has been to me, especially when my seatbelt wasn’t even
completely fastened during those bumpy rides of parenthood! From these
days on, I shall proclaim to the world that there is no need to fall into the
lies from Satan when I used to be bound by shame and self-doubt, because
I am indeed a mother with two blessed children!

In retrospect, there has never been a moment that God would ever let go of
my hands throughout those lonesome and painful journey. It is not at all
about me. Rather, all the glory and honor belong to Him because He is the
one orchestrating and allowing tragedies to fall upon the lives of His
children in order to bring beauty out from ashes!

He is the one orchestrating and allowing tragedies to fall upon the lives of
His children in order to bring beauty out from ashes!

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At age seven, Curtis was diagnosed with Tourette syndrome. Strong
medications must be taken in order to suppress his uncontrollable verbal
tics and body twitching. The side effects from the medications range from
being a zombie to increased appetite. It was rather heartbreaking to learn
that Curtis was not able to stay alert especially when he was supposed to
be playing and socializing with classmates during school recess. Parent
helpers would often report to me that Curtis spent most of the times
sleeping on the picnic bench. On top of all the physical discomfort,
classmates would cruelly mimic his verbal tics and even called him names.
Numerous meetings were conducted with the school principal, teachers,
and Special Education staff in order to help Curtis succeed academically.
Daily medications were taken in order to help him stay focused and
motivated in learning. It was not until he reached the age of 16 that he was
diagnosed with a full episode of Bipolar Disorder. He could either have lots
of energy and stay up the whole night listening to loud rap music; or, he
could be staying in his bed past noon with absolutely no desire of
grooming or motivation to engage in any daily activities.

One early morning around 2AM, Curtis had decided to take a morning stroll
around the neighborhood; thankfully, he got escorted inside the
dispatcher’s car when Curtis was talking incessantly for hours. Dispatcher
and medical personnel arrived early in the morning and reported that Curtis
had been skipping on his medications. His extreme psychosis didn’t leave
many options other than to admit him to the Children Psychiatric Unit in
the John Muir Hospital at Walnut Creek, for safety reasons.

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My older son, Austin, did not have to go through such drama. However, he
did struggled with low self-esteem and depression during his high school
years. It was not until the last two years of high school that his life took a
dramatic positive direction. He was tremendously blessed to have a
Christian-guided counselor at that time. She’d consistently inspire Austin
with Biblical teachings and advice. The Christian fellowship at school (called
“Water Walker”) left a remarkable life-changing experience on him. Austin
continued to thrive and developed an intimate bonding with God. He
became an avid writer and frequently shared God’s inspirational words to
his Facebook friends. Under the mentorship and guidance from his church
youth pastor, Austin developed a passion of serving the youth as a “big
brother”. After graduating from college with a major in Religious Studies, he
is now studying at the Western Seminary School while also serving at the
church.

Back in 1997, we participated a Christian Family camp held at Mission
Spring, Santa Cruz. The messages preached by the pastors, especially on
the topic of parenting, were uplifting but also challenging. I clearly
remembered that one of the pastors concluded his message with a closing

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prayer. He challenged all the parents to consider dedicating their children
to the loving hands of God. Wow! What a divine moment! It was that
unique challenge that made me realize about God’s ultimate plan! He
entrusted parents to raise up godly children (His inheritance) in order to
bring glory to His kingdom, rather than deceiving ourselves that children
are our utmost possessions! Without any hesitation, I raised my hand up
high. God honors those who honor Him!
Without any hesitation, I raised my hand up high. God honors those who
honor Him!
When I was asked to write an article about the journey of my parenthood, I
felt rather humbled and unworthy. However, if there is just one parent who
finds this article uplifting, then it is all worthwhile! I would like to encourage
all the parents out there who might be struggling with their children to
please take heart and remember to pray daily for them. Never
underestimate the power of becoming praying parents! It is especially
critical as we are standing between the threshold of spiritual warfare and
Godly protection for our children!
I would like to encourage all the parents out there who might be struggling
with their children to please take heart and remember to pray daily for
them.

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The Power of Praying Mom

The Power of Praying for Your Adult Children, by Stormie Omartian
By Susan Ying

One of the books that I highly recommend is The Power of Praying for Your
Adult Children, by Stormie Omartian. Each day, Stormie would guide us to
focus on a specific topic and prayer content for our children. I hope you will
enjoy that undivided sweet moment of praying to our loving Father!
Continue to press on, live out to His teachings, and be good role models
before your children. Believe me, every little deed you invest on people or
tasks, your children are constantly watching as your loyal audience (whether
you like it or not). Please do not regard me as any sort of parenting expert; I
am far from God’s standards! May we continue to uphold this prestigious
title as good and faithful steward in parenting! Blessings to you all!

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My Unforgettable Trip to Jerusalem

by Susan Ying

Shalom! My life is never the same after joining Pastor Belinda’s tour to the trip
of Jerusalem in mid-November, 2016!

As a born-again Christian for several decades, I thought being a Christian
can be quite fulfilling as long as I continue to cultivate my spiritual walks
with Christ by engaging my daily Bible reading, prayer, weekly Sunday
service, serve Him wholeheartedly, and even participate in some of the
short-term mission trips, etc. I believe many of us Christians (including
myself) have that tendency of complying with that code of conduct about
how we should perform in the Christian community as well as our personal
spiritual growth.

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How foolish of me that I often place God in my little box, and expect Him to
manifest His wondrous work in a predictable manner! How little faith I have
when it comes down to inevitable trials in life complaining that he fails or
even vanish to intervene in the midst of my misery! On the contrary, how
patiently He has waited all these years for me to finally unfold those hidden
treasures that He longs for His princess to marvel at! Yes, I encountered
Him in a much deeper level during and after my trip to Jerusalem. Please
allow me to highlight and share with you some glimpses of this amazing
journey. It will not be possible for me to cover the entire trip in detail. After
all, I would assume that you would want to have that genuine personal
encounter with Jesus, and not settle with being a spectator by getting
second-hand information. I pray that your heart will be captivated by His
sacred plans in your lives and that you will be inspired by considering to
invest your time and money on your once in a life time journey to
Jerusalem soon!

Jesus performs His miracle on calming the raging waters and winds at the Sea of Galilee

Just imagine at this very moment, you are trapped in a time machine
swirling back into the era of Jesus’ time. You eyes witness vicariously about
how Jesus performs His miracle on calming the raging waters and winds at

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the Sea of Galilee. How about that beautiful sycamore fig tree erecting
firmly before your eyes? This short-statue tax-collector named Zacchaeus
climbed effortlessly to that tree due to its low and wide trunk, which
enabled him to straddle safely on the tree. On that very day, Zacchaeus’ life
was transformed and restored because of his unwavering sense of
determination to meet Jesus. That little town named Capernaum added
color to the scene when Jesus was preaching to the crowd and suddenly
you cannot help but lift your head up to watch that opened ceiling which
was abruptly torn from the top of the roof. Four faithful friends were
desperately (they had no time to consult with the master of the house)
lowering the body of their paralyzed friend. They were determined to see
instant mobility of his legs, to be restored by Jesus’ command. The Sermon
of the Mount marked the turning point of Jesus’ disciples as they’d decided
to follow Jesus when confronted with numerous persecutions in the days
ahead. Those eight prominent beatitudes would be their steadfast
foundation to press on to overcome obstacles at all odds.

Zacchaeus climbed effortlessly to that tree due to its low and wide trunk
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There are simply too many touching moments that I don’t believe by
describing this awesome event in writing would strike your resonating
response to me! I feel like this is only an initial milestone in my Christian
journey. However, l’ve discovered that my daily devotion and prayer life
have been more substantial and exciting. There seems to be new insights
offered from His Words and I truly feel that incredible sense of peace within
my heart!
To end the above described trip with all my readers, I would like to invite
you to take that leap of faith by considering Jerusalem as your top priority
travel list in the year of 2017! If the Lord permits, I hope to meet you on the
trip and have a dialogue throughout this journey together. How does that
sound to you? Shalom, may that peace be with you always and
forevermore!

Click button for slide show

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Emmanuel [ Video 神與我同在 ]

by Susan Ying

Christmas is the season of bringing true meaning knowing the fact that how much God loves
us!

As I pounder upon the true meaning of “Emmanuel”, I couldn’t help but
very much inclined to dig into the genealogy of Jesus as well as the birth of
Jesus recorded in the book of Matthew on 1:1–23.

Instead of studying each name and background from each person listed in
the genealogy, what really struck me were several of these people’s names
really caught my attention. I couldn’t help but wonder why their names
were included and recorded? What insightful lesson God would want me to
learn from it?

What insightful lesson God would want me to learn from Jesus’ genealogy?

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First of all, God’s great plan to mankind is to have His beloved son, Jesus, to
accomplish His great plan of salvation to sinful people like you and I. First,
Jesus must become fully human by initially impregnated as a fetus in Mary’s
womb. She then later will give birth to baby Jesus and raise Him up to a
grown man. Therefore, Jesus must come from a line of human genealogy
through God’s sovereign plan. What puzzles me is that Jesus chose to be
among the three cycles of the fourteen generations — fourteen generations
in all from Abraham to David, fourteen from David to the exile to Babylon,
and fourteen from the exile to the Christ (Matthew 1:17)

Abraham was once called “the father of faith”, but we all know too well that
he took greater interest to the safety of his own life much more than his
wife by lying to Pharaoh (Gen. 12:10–20). How about when God had already
promised to Abraham that He will bless Sarah to give birth to a son and
that she will be called the mother of nations (Genesis 17:16). However,
Ismael was born before Isaac and many tragedies took place thereafter.
David was once called the man after God’s own heart. He had committed
adultery and murdered Bathsheba’s husband, Uriah (2 Samuel 11:1–27).
Now came Jacob who was a person determined to get what he wanted no
matter what obstacles were set before him. How about Judah? This is the
original tribe that Jesus came upon its genealogy. Judah engaged in a
rather absurd relationship with his daughter-in-law and she gave birth to
Perez and Zerah. What about Rahab who was a gentile and a prostitute,
and Ruth who was also a gentile and not even considered the chosen
Israelite? Manasseh was rated the most wicked king that he led the
Israelites astray from the Lord (2 Kings 21:9)!

Abraham, David, Jacob, Judah, Rahab, Ruth, and Manasseh all portrait the
true natures of who we are. I am simply in awe that Jesus chose to be
among sinners. He loves us and He is dying and longing to save us from
sins so that through His blood, we can be set free from sins and enjoy that
abundant life He intended for all of us to enjoy!

I am simply in awe that Jesus chose to be among sinners.

Because of Joseph’s and Mary’s obedience to God’s sovereign plan,

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Christmas brings real meaning! The name “Jesus” means that He will save His
people from their sins (Matthew 1:21). In addition, virgin Mary will give birth
to a son, and they will call Him Immanuel — which means “God with us”.
(Matthew 1:23).
Let’s take a moment to set aside the craziness of this time of the year!
Christmas is the season of bringing true meaning knowing the fact that how
much God loves us! No matter what lies ahead in life, all things will matter
when God is with us!

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The Privilege of Suffering

By Susan Ying

What is your first inclination when one day you were at the supermarket,
you are holding this bottle of oyster sauce and the back label indicates with
one of the many ingredients — M.S.G. (Monosodium Glutamate). Would you
still decide owning it?
Up to now, M.S.G. has no clear scientific evidence to support that it may be
detrimental to one’s health. Even though findings to this ingredient may
contribute to possible headache, dry mouth, and heart palpitation, etc.

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Well, I’ll let you be your own judge at this point.
About three years ago, seven of us mothers had decided to come up with a
name that could simply identify of who we are. Therefore, we’ve come up
with the acronym of M.S.G. (Mom Support Group). Yes, we are the
mothers who are desperately in need of each other’s support, a shoulder to
cry on, a listening ear, an empathetic connection, and with total acceptance
without judgements!

“we are the mothers who are desperately in need of each other’s support, a
shoulder to cry on, a listening ear, an empathetic connection, and with total
acceptance without judgements!”

Many of our children have been suffering from years of ongoing mental
illnesses ranging from Schizophrenia, Obsessive Compulsive Behavior, Manic
and Depressive Bipolar Disorder. In fact, even one of the young adult child
had just recently got released from a three-year-incarceration due to just a
minor criminal conviction because of the mental instability at that time!
Have you ever experience during the middle of the night; your child had
abruptly decided to simply taking a walk outside the street? The mother has
to sit on the curb under the street night awaiting for her child to return
home to safety? How about when your child is suffering from an emotional
imbalance to an extent that he must be transported to the psychiatric
hospital under safety supervision? While the parents were driving down on
the road heading to the hospital, they were witnessing a crowd of
juniors/seniors from a high school in a distance. The guys were dressed in
handsome tuxedos while the girls were in their stunning and gorgeous
gowns. Laughers and excitement filled the air. Indeed, what lies ahead is
that imminent forever bright future! After all, isn’t that “only the sky is the
limit” ? Yet, the parents must endure that painful and traumatic reality that
their child will not be graduating from high school. What the future lies
ahead of them seem like a bubble bursting right in front of their faces!
How about if one daughter approaches to the mother stating that she is
very anxious and confused about her sexual orientation? She declares that
she would prefers to be a lesbian in order to free her identity crisis…

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Raising children with mental disorders are an extreme lonely journey
especially when some of us are single mothers. In hindsight, God’s grace is
always sufficient to us. He transforms our lives to be more empathetic and
able to reaching out to parents who may experience those similar
situations. One daily devotion for March 8, 2016, Pastor Ray Stedman shared
his message on “The Privilege of Suffering” (Philippians 1:28–30). My heart
was deeply touched when he wrote:

someone has well said when we appear before the Lord he doesn’t look us
over for medals, but for scars.

The book of John chapter 9 depicted with such a heartwarming story about
how Jesus healed the man who was blind from birth. His disciples were
inquiring the source of the man’s blindness — was that the sin caused by
this man or from the parents? Then Jesus answered,

neither this man nor his parents sinned, but that the works of God should be
revealed in him.

Mental illness is a stigma that most people find it challenging to even
initiate a conversation among one another. They feel rather awkward and
helpless among parents who are struggling with children diagnosed with
some forms of mental disorders. It is my utmost prayer and desire that
brothers and sisters at church, let’s embrace one another despise of our
differences and backgrounds! Let’s be very sensitive when it comes to
sending warm greetings around the Christmas season. Let all the
accomplishments fulfilled by your family members be given to all the
credits and praises to our Father instead. Try our best to enrich our
conversation on how wonderful God’s work in the midst of our difficult
circumstance or even share about what we learn from our Sunday sermon
and Sunday school rather than inquiring what colleges or jobs of our
children possess?

Indeed, M.S.G. may not seem like a welcoming connotation. However, we
believe that we are the princesses in His eyes and we will continue to stand
firm and fight a good fight for Him! Amen!

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