Shannon Yee

Appetizer
Fill in the blank: The best thing about where I live is _________________…

The best thing about where I live is that we have family nearby.

Soup
Create a new name for a deodorant (like “Flower Fresh” or “Shower Scent”).

Sweeter Sweat

Salad
What was the last piece of software you installed onto your computer?

Who Me? I don’t install things; that’s my husband’s forte.

Main Course
If you were to receive a superlative award today beginning with the words ”Most likely to…”, what would the rest of the phrase say?

Most likely to blame someone else for my mistakes.

Dessert
What two colors do you like to wear together?

Pink and Blue

I want to be a woman that people see and say: She is enjoying life.

Basically, I want to be so content and at peace with the circumstances in my life that no matter what, it shows. Not in a fake happy, everything is fine sort of way, but in a calm, confident, and trusting in a Being beyond myself sort of way. Does that make any sense?!

I love being Brian’s wife. I also love being Eila’s and Josiah’s mom. I also love being God’s daughter. I hope that I’m never caught complaining about these things, maybe sharing the trials and lessons learned to help and encourage others, but not as a comparison or badge or anything else.

How do I show that my joy of joys is fulfilling the mission and ministry that God has given me? I think I first have to accept the challenge and truly enjoy it. If I’m not 100% satisfied and content with God, then I won’t be able to show that. It seems so painfully simple and yet even as I write, I’m stumped as to how to actually live in this way.

It seems like I’m stuck in the same old struggles day in and day out.

I’m a part of several groups where we share prayer requests (and I assume these women are praying for me, as I am for them), but I always feel like I have the same request. Namely, I want to seek God first. Some days this request looks different than other days, but for the most part it’s the same root issue (Pride, Idolatry, Unbelief – call it what you may.) My request might be for better communication with my husband, for more patience with my kids, for more discipline in studying the Bible or prayer, for balance in the activities or events of each day, for time management, for wisdom, for sleep. I try to vary the requests so that I don’t feel like it’s always the same and so that I don’t bore those praying for me. But, more so because I feel like it *should* be different.

Why do I have this expectation that my prayer requests should change? I think it’s because I believe that God answers prayer and if I keep asking for the same thing over and over without any change then that means there hasn’t been an answer. If there is no answer, then everything I believe and live for comes into question. Now, I’m not about to ditch my faith because this one request – that I seek God first – isn’t answered as I think it should be, but it just shows my lack of faith in that I’m afraid to even think about the implications of this “unanswered” prayer request.

The ironic thing about this whole discussion (that I’m having with myself…) is that my request for seeking God first is something that lies within me to fix/do. I don’t need God to answer this request at all. I need to act, knowing that He chose me and sought me out, so it should be my reaction to love Him in return and seek to please Him, with gratitude for all that He has done for me. I will probably keep the same old prayer request and keep trying to phrase it differently depending on my struggle in that moment living according to the graciousness of God. And perhaps, I’ll act as if it’s already been answered, which it has.

Appetizer
What do you consider to be the ultimate snack food?

Cereal

Soup
On a scale of 1 to 10 (with 10 as highest), about how popular is your last name?

In China, 8 or 9. In America, 3.

Salad
Who is your all-time favorite sitcom character, and why?

As a kid, I loved Punky Brewster; she was fun and didn’t care what other’s thought, but was kind and smart. Now, I think I’d pick Lorelei Gilmore; she was a great mom, who loved her daughter and was fun and goofy even if she had her issues.
Main Course
Do you shop online? If so, name some sites you like to browse for goodies.

Amazon.com

Dessert
Fill in the blank: I think ___________ should be ___________.

I think I should be doing something more productive.

I often wonder how many times I’ve missed the boat with regards to great gifts or exciting adventures God had ready for me, but I ignored or chose to go the other way…

My sister and I were talking about this not too long ago as she was sharing that she had just finished a study on the life of Aaron (old testament priest) and that he didn’t listen and obey God at first, but then later tried to do what God had said before – but things were different then.

I know a family who recently went through the process of adopting a precious baby, they were seeking God and yet not everyone was at the same point at the same time. At one point the father was ready and at another point they were both ready, but there were problems with the logistics (ie. God’s wasn’t ready or the child wasn’t ready?), and then finally everything fell perfectly into place – because the whole family was on the same page as God and ready to listen and obey when and what He said, possibly.

I feel like the same thing has been happening with Brian and I. When we were engaged we talked about how we thought that God was calling us to go at some later point, possibly 5-10 years down the road, to be missionaries full-time. France has long been in our minds as a great place to go and minister, but by no means the only choice for us. Not too long ago, I was fully ready to go and after talking with our pastor and praying, we started to contact some missions agencies and missionaries in France. Well, there are lots of open doors and opportunities, but Brian seemed really hesitant and even disagreeable when we would talk and pray about it. So, we were obviously not on the same page. I don’t know what page exactly God was/is on, but sometimes I wonder if Brian and I are even in the same book. Was I jumping the gun for whatever reason? Was Brian dragging his feet? It seemed very clear to me though that God was not asking us to go when we were not both ready. Did we miss the boat? I don’t know. I certainly hope not.

On the other side, I’ve been the recipient of amazing gifts when I least expected it and know others who have been too. In fact, this past week I heard two stories in my family of God’s faithfulness. My dad, Bill, was driving on the freeway and was hit by some drywall that fell from a truck. His car had some bad damage, but he walked away without a scratch. As a testimony of God’s protection, my mother found a nickel (when she finds pennies, she uses them as reminders and thanks God for the small ways he protects us each day) on her walk and knew God was working in big ways that day! Then, another sister of mine and her four kids applied to attend (at a very discounted rate) a local Christian school and they were accepted and the teachers and administrators were excited about working with their newest daughter, who is from Zambia and is still learning English and may be a little behind in some academic areas. It was a true answer to prayer – they got on the cruise ship!

God’s timing is always right. As the Gentile father in Mark 9:24 asking Jesus to heal his son cried out “I do believe. Help me overcome my unbelief!”

Appetizer
Name a sound you like to hear.

The laughter of small children.
Soup
What is your favorite kind of cheese?

Cheddar

Salad
Do you sleep late on Saturday mornings? Why or why not?

No, because my children don’t let me. But I still try.

Main Course
When was the last time you forgot something? What was it, and how long did it take to remember it?

Last week, I was supposed to watch a friend’s son while she had a meeting for work and I totally forgot until I finally got her message wondering where I was, 2 hours later! Then, on Friday, I was supposed to meet another friend at her house and stood her up.

Dessert
Fill in the blank: I notice ____________ when _____________.

I notice Eila has had an accident when she walks by stripped from the waist down.

Appetizer
Name something you think is “the best.”

My husband.

Soup
On a scale of 1 to 10 (with 10 highest), how stressed are you today?

5

Salad
What kind of cleanser do you use to wash your face?

Oil of Olay Foaming Face Cleanser and Make-up Remover

Main Course
Last Friday was a blue moon! What is something that you believe only happens “once in a blue moon.”

Josiah sleeping through the night!

Dessert
When was the last time it rained where you live?

Tuesday.

I confess I really enjoy watching beauty pagents. The Miss Universe pagent was on TV last week and one of the final questions was: If you could have any power, what superpower would you want and why? Miss Korea answered that she would want a wallet that never dried up, which seemed like a good enough if not totally materialistic answer. You really can help lots of people and do a lot with money, so it is a good power, but it is not what I would want.

I first thought that I’d like to have the power to heal. It would be great to be able to help all the people suffering from diseases and illnesses, especially those that don’t have any real treatment or cure right now. And, then I realized that the ability to heal is already mine through prayer and while I would like to have the ability to heal whomever whenever, that power belongs to God and is better with Him (as he sees and knows all, and I do not.)

So, my next superpower of choice was to read minds. I imagined that this particular power could come in very handy with my children and my husband as well as with random people I meet. If I could read minds, I might be inclined to extend more grace and be a lot nicer as I realize that everyone is struggling and hurting. But again, I figured that there are definite drawbacks as I probably don’t really want to know what these people are thinking most of the time and Brian assures me that he isn’t thinking about anything at all. If that’s true, it would be a really boring superpower – not that super.

I guess my answer for now would have to be: Love. I would like to truly, unconditionally and deeply love. This, too, can be mine as I walk in the Spirit of God… I am a superhero!

As a side note, Brian and I have often had the debate over which superpower would be better: flying or being invisible. I think with my fear of heights that invisibility wins hands-down. Though, if I could fly, I probably wouldn’t be afraid of falling & hence being up high, so maybe it would be cool to fly. What do you think?

I used to think that I was a balanced person who knew when to say no, even if I didn’t always know how to do so in the best way. But now, I am feeling very over-committed and am not sure how I got this way. What’s more I have still more things that I’d like to be involved in and yet know that I really cannot do anything else.

A wise woman (my mom) recently chided me that it’s better to do one thing well than to do a million things. That gentle reminder has been haunting me as I have been praying over and deciding what and how to do everything. There are lots of areas of life that I am passionate about and even more that I’m interested in and even more that I like might be cool. Some of these include: almost anything my husband cares deeply about or is pursuing for the moment (photography, music, astronomy & space travel, but not computer games), mothering and helping mothers, discipleship, language learning and teaching, breastfeeding, scripture study and memorization, being healthy – exercise and food, and especially building relationships with family and friends.

I can’t do everything, but I want to. It seems like the trick is to figure out how to make as many of my interests overlap as possibly, so that I can do it all. Really, I think the trick is being content with what God has for me right now and not running ahead or lagging behind him. I really am like a toddler in *so* many ways. If only I could master that favorite word of toddlers! Hee hee.

Of course, there are some things, I have no trouble saying no to, but those are probably the things I should be saying yes to!

Appetizer
List 3 emotions you experienced this week.

Elation, Frustration, Pride

Soup
Name a car you’d love to have.

I don’t know or care about cars, the one I have is great. 2003 Mazda Protege5

Salad
Describe your typical morning routine.

Early morning, awakened by Josiah, wanting to be changed, eat and play. I attempt to sleep with him crawling and poking me until Eila wakes up and joins us in the bed. Then, “It’s time to get up; it’s not time to sleep, Maman.” So, we get up and “go potty” and eat. From there each day is different, but usually involves some showering, getting dressed, whining and reprimanding.

Main Course
Have you ever emailed someone famous? If so, who, and what did you say to them? Did they reply?

No. Why? Do lots of people do this?

Dessert
Do you listen to podcasts? If so, which ones?

I’d like to listen to more. I enjoy “This American Life” and sometimes “Focus on the Family”