Shannon Yee

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”

Just so you know, that test is really about how you answer the questions more than how you draw. The questions are not really very good either. There are 3 choices for about 5 questions about your picture. So, that only really gives a few variations. You know a test is wrong or at least poor, when a husband and wife score nearly the same. Brian and I are almost complete opposites and yet got very similar descriptions based on our pictures, which I’m not sure, but I’d assume looked very different (he is a computer-geek/artist, so I’d hope his would look a little better than mine!)

The results of your analysis say:

You tend to pursue many different activities simultaneously. When misfortune does happen, it doesn’t actually dishearten you all that much. You have a peaceful mind, viewing the world with calm and serenity. To you, life is not about struggle and strife but about existence and co-existence. You like following the rules and being objective. You are precise and meticulous, and like to evaluate decisions before making them. You have a sunny, cheerful disposition.What does your drawing say about YOU?

I’ve been taking some strolls down memory lane recently. Eila dripped a bit of jelly out of her sandwich (she now eats pb&j, yippee!) and it reminded me of lunch everyday at SHS when Steve would drop jelly from his sandwich. I finally got to reconnect with my better half (the square root of Shan squared). Brian and I took Eila to see the dinosaurs this weekend and had lunch near the Bell Tower, parking on East Ann. Grant came over and wanted to listen to Five Iron Frenzy. We went to Chicago, home to many a great trip in the past and a fun time seeing my sister. Brian and I went on a date, just like when we were young… It was all very cool beans.

Appetizer
Tell about a time when you had to be brave.

A few months ago, we went to California to visit my sister and we did some mountain climbing. I couldn’t let my fear of heights get in the way…

Soup
Which upcoming movie are you excited about seeing?

None, really. I’m looking forward to Harry Potter and will probably go see Spiderman 3 with Brian this weekend.

Salad
Name an item you try to always have on hand.

Diapers. They are useful for more than the conventional usage (the cloth ones, at least.)
Main Course
Imagine the most relaxing room you can think of. Now describe it!

It’s a quiet, sun-filled room with a balcony and open doors, no bugs, but a gentle breeze. There’s a very comfy chair where I am reading a book or enjoying the view of the ocean.

Dessert
On a scale of 1 to 10 (10 being highest), how spiritual or religious are you?

I guess I’m a 9; I believe that all of life has spiritual basis or consequences, but I don’t like to think of myself as religious, ie. following a religion. Honestly, though, I do adhere to a religion, namely Evangelical Christianity.