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By Joy Wong
I’ve been feeling old lately. Last November, I turned 36. As my big brother put it, I am now “closer to 40 than I am to 30.”
Of course, whether I am old or not depends on who you ask. To those in junior high who were born before 9/11 and have never heard of U2, I am most definitely old. Continue Reading »
Posted in reflections | Tagged aging, health, parenthood | Leave a Comment »
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By Debbie Gin
Almost ten years ago, I endured one of the most painful experiences in my life. Twice. We lost our first child at 8 weeks in utero; we eventually named her Cadence. Then less than a year later, we lost Nathanial at 10 weeks in utero. Continue Reading »
Posted in reflections | Tagged American dream, expectations, pain, pregnancy loss | Leave a Comment »
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By Dorcas Cheng-Tozun
You’ve probably heard that colloquial definition of insanity that’s floated around the Internet for a while now, the one about doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result. No one really knows who said it and psychologists take issue with it, but the concept has stuck in our collective conscious nonetheless. Continue Reading »
Posted in reflections | Tagged cross-culture, expectations, hope | 3 Comments »
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By Jerrica Ching
Farewell to the first month of 2016! Just as some of you pointed out throughout the month of January, I too am the type of person who typically will have the same resolutions year after year. I have noticed however that after each year, the expectations that I have for myself to follow through with resolutions have become much more realistic. When the expectations for myself are reasonable, I am much more likely to follow through. Continue Reading »
Posted in reflections | Tagged expectations, perfectionism, self-care, sustainability | Leave a Comment »
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By Sharon Lee Song
At the end of 2015 as I started discerning and moving forward with a major transition from urban ministry to another ministry called Alive & Well Women, the burning question at the forefront of my mind was, “Lord, how am I supposed to BE in this season of transition?” I had been struggling with feeling disconnected with God and remaining alive and well through it. Continue Reading »
Posted in reflections | Tagged identity, perfectionism, personality types, self-acceptance | Leave a Comment »
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By Melanie Mar Chow
“…God loves a cheerful giver.” –2 Corinthians 9:7
I am not one to make official new years’ resolutions, for I know that doing so is almost always an invitation for failure. I am still trying to lose the same 10 pounds each year, still trying to be a more loving mom, wife and co-worker, etc. Now it is even humorous each year to report to our friends about our resolutions. Continue Reading »
Posted in reflections | Tagged community, holiday tips, resolutions | Leave a Comment »
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By Diana Gee
It’s that time of year again. The beginning of the year when we feel the slate is clean and fresh. When we traditionally make decisions to improve ourselves and find the resolve to implement them. When it comes to New Year’s resolutions though, I fail every time: Lose ten pounds. Get fit. Spend less. Continue Reading »
Posted in reflections | Tagged frugality, hoarding, immigrant mentality, resolutions, simplicity | Leave a Comment »
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By Young Lee Hertig
After 13 years of living in a quaint block in South Pasadena, we moved to Monterey Hills among a hill full of condos in mid-September. I am grateful for this new place, but leaving behind my house on my familiar old block, though still close by, was not easy.
Despite Southern California’s culture of driving everywhere, the old cul-de-sac where we used to live provided the rare privilege of walking to the neighborhood Trader Joe’s, farmers’ markets, local coffee shops, and stopping by my dear friends’ homes along the way. Unlike driving, walking in the neighborhood creates opportunities to make friends and catch up on the latest news on the block. Continue Reading »
Posted in reflections | Tagged hospitality, neighborliness, resolutions | Leave a Comment »
Greetings to our readers, old and new — happy 2016 to you all!
In an effort to crystallize and improve the nature and quality of our writing, we have decided to choose a particular theme each month for our blog. While we hope to cover topics that are particularly relevant for Asian American women in ministry leadership, we also intend to cover a variety of other subjects as well. If you have any suggestions for themes, we’d like to hear them!
For the month of January, we are beginning with the theme “Resolutions.”
I’m also happy to report that our blog reached a milestone in November 2015, publishing its 300th post. Our dedicated contributors include Asian American women leaders with varied ministry experience including pastors, campus ministers, psychologists, and those in academia, many who are themselves published authors and bloggers. These women represent a diversity in walks of life, from those who are single, married, mothers, etc.
We remain committed to the main task of telling our stories. We have found that one of the main difficulties of Asian American women in ministry leadership is loneliness and isolation, and we have found that sharing our stories is one of the best remedies. While we may include some preaching, teaching, or expressing of opinions in our blogs, our mainstay is our stories.
We hope you will continue reading and responding to our blogs, walking alongside us in our faith journeys. AAWOL first began under the motto of “Never Alone Again.” As we connect through our stories, may we know this to be true in our lives, through highs and lows, thick and thin — we are not alone! Praise be to God:)
Joy Wong is the editor and administrator for aawolsisters.com and a contributing author to Mirrored Reflections: Reframing Biblical Characters, published in September 2010. She has an MDiv from Fuller Theological Seminary, a BA in English from Princeton University, as well as managerial experience in industrial distribution. Joy and her family attend Northland Village Church.
Posted in Announcement | Leave a Comment »
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Wishing all our readers and writers a moment of pause in this post-Christmas season to reflect on the gift of Jesus Christ to this world and how it leads us in hope, joy, and peace into this coming new year. Happy 2016 to you all!
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