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  • Posted on September 30, 2011
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Living the Fire

After VAY summer camp, I was ready to do what God was calling me to do. Camp helped me find what I was searching for; I didn’t even realize what I was doing wrong in my life. God has shown me grace and mercy, giving it all back to him is all I can do. Living Fire encouraged me to go even if I was going through pain and suffering. The youth family has a great group of kids that are eager to come on Fridays and learn about God, interacting with one another and the elders. The staff leaders are a great part of Living Fire. They show us all love and grace, caring for each and every person. This past year, we had a series called Lies That Kill Men. It helped show all of us the true ways we were suppose to live and act rather than live according to our own plan.

Looking forward to this new year is making me all excited! We are starting on a new direction for the ministry called the Vine, on how to build up a relationship with God and abide in him.

“Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.” John 15:4.

From this verse, we will develop stronger in Christ if we remain in him. This year we are also gaining new staff leaders! Throughout LF, I’ve experience God’s work in me and also God working through me. In many small and even big events, God has opened my heart to see his grace and compassion to each and every one of us. Some things I’ve learned in the past year were just easy things God was asking from us. Other things required me to make many choices on which side I could take and sometimes the point of the teaching would be totally asking for a big chunk in our lives. [continue reading...]

  • Posted on September 23, 2011
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Getting Through

This year’s lockin is coming and I’m really excited. I hope that this year, we truly get to know the 7th graders. Looking back as a senior, I remember how SCARED I was to get to know everyone and how insecure I was to know that everyone was older than me. I just wanted so badly to fit into Living Fire, and I thought that all the upper classmen were so much cooler. Now that I’m older, I don’t want the newcomers to feel the same way I did. It’s a hard problem to fix, I know. And honestly, it’s so hard to break people out of the cliques (I’m guilty of it too). I’m also looking forward to all the fun games, staying up late, and really hoping for a meaningful lesson that will stick with me. I know “Get Through” is the theme and it seems pretty applicable to my life right now. I’m praying that the lesson will open my eyes to God again and help me realize that I can’t live life like this on my own. [continue reading...]

  • Posted on September 16, 2011
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Go, Go, Living Fire!

This past year, in Living Fire, we learned many things. Some were new insights and some were graceful reminders of God’s presence in our lives. He showed us how to walk with Him through spiritual disciplines such as prayer, rest, devotions and Bible study. He showed us the importance of cultivating godly men in the “Lies that Kill Men” series. He revealed the depths of His faithfulness and love through VAY summer camp. Not only that, I am continually amazed at His work in building our community – He is transforming relationships and unifying people in His name. This, my friends, is our God.

It is a massive privilege for me to be serving on Living Fire Staff because I am able to witness God’s work and be a part of it. This year is no different. Our vision this year is to “Remain in Him and Strive for Him.” Through our focus on John 14-15, the students and staff will examine what it means to remain in the Vine and how this affects our relationship with Christ. Our hope is that we would seek to further respond in love and obedience and live the gospel out in our daily lives. [continue reading...]

  • Posted on August 22, 2011
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I Love Summer Camp!

This was my second year going to summer camp and I was amazed by God once again. After heavily pressuring two of my friends to go for their first time, I felt confident that they would be amazed as well. VAY summer camp is effective in getting your attention back to God because not only does it remove you from the stress and routine of everyday life, but you’re surrounded by wonderful people– inspiring cabin leaders, great speakers, and friends both new and old. If you were acquaintances with someone in your cabin, you’d be best friends by the end of the week, and if you were best friends at the beginning you’re inseparable by the end of the week.

The theme this year was Loved by God. At first it sounded remarkably cliche. Wasn’t that the whole point of children’s ministry back at home? But looking at the theme through Jesus’s heartfelt prayer in John 17, we were able to see exactly what Loved by God means in the light of today’s world and our personal lives. How His love can outlast any earthly love, and our response to this perfect love should be noticeable to the people around us. How part of our response to God’s love is trusting in him, and trusting him with EVERYTHING– our life, money, family, possessions, emotions. [continue reading...]

  • Posted on March 01, 2011
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2011 LF Winter Retreat – Reflection

Every year, when January rolls around, I start to feel anxious and excited because I know that winter retreat is around the corner. If you ask any of the Living Fire students about their expectations for the retreat, the answers would be snow, fellowship, God, lessons, fun, food… People say that you can buy new things but you can’t buy a new party. I think that phrase is pretty true in this situation because you can’t buy the great time and fellowship that we had during the 2011 winter retreat.

I’ve been to three retreats but this year was definitely my favorite! Even though we had fewer people, the amount of fun we had was not diminished. With the smaller group, we were able to have more intimacy, closeness, and learned more about each other. I learned that it’s impossible for Kathy to tackle Johnson in the snow (high five, Johnson!) and Jonathan “goes grace” 3 times a day. I got to know everyone in Living Fire including the new comers and the seniors so much better. [continue reading...]

  • Posted on February 24, 2011
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2011 LF Winter Retreat – Food

I recently returned from a weeklong vacation and I have to say that the east coast is an amazing place with great history and significance to this country; but I saw none of that.  Why?  Mostly because I spent nearly all of my waking hours there eating. Statue of Liberty? Nah, let’s go eat instead. Empire State Building? Let’s eat instead. Central Park? No way I want to walk off what I just ate! By the end of it all, I was over the brim on the amount of deliciousness I experienced.

I’m sure all of you know that our retreat is only a few days away and I hope you are all looking forward to the same things I am:

1. Co Lan An’s cooking
1. Co My An’s cooking

Both number one? Yes, yes they are.

In all seriousness, I am most excited about the time of fellowship amongst the students and staff.  This retreat will be a time for us to get away and eat.  A mini-vacation.  And while we do indeed stuff ourselves with good home cooking, we’ll also have a chance to feed our souls with the Word of God.  By the end of it all, I hope everyone will look at each other and see that not only have our tummies grown to a larger size but so have our walks with God.

Like my trip of nonstop eating, my hope and prayer for the staff and students is that we will dive into His Word continually and together as one body.

Happy eating my friends!

“So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.” -1 Corinthians 10:31

  • Posted on February 22, 2011
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2011 LF Winter Retreat Information

Living Fire’s winter retreat is this weekend, February 25-27 in Big Bear!

The theme this year is: Echoes – when actions follow faith
We will be studying from the book of James on faith and how we are to respond to God’s word in our life.

Permission slip is linked here for your convenience.  Please contact me if you have any questions.

Winter Retreat 2011 Permission Slip

  • Posted on February 04, 2011
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The ORN Bowl

The 3rd Annual Orange Superbowl started off with a bang. Or should I say… rain! The cold rain poured and the winds howled but that didn’t stop the Living Fire Boys (and Staff) and the Old Men from duking it out on the Santa Clara Park field. The anticipation had been building over the past several weeks and strategies over Facebook were being debated. Since the Old Men had dominated the past two years, the lingering question was: Could the Living Fire Boys end their losing streak and take home the trophy?

This was my 2nd time playing in the Orange Superbowl and boy, was it interesting. As a first year Living Fire Staffer, I was with the Living Fire Boys. When I first saw our team of possibly 25 guys, ranging from 12-40ish (Anh Sa was on our team), I thought to myself, “Yes, we have a small army here. We can definitely make this a competitive game.” When I saw the Old Men, however, I was taken aback. Most of their guys are athletic beasts: they had Thomas who is an agile running machine, Khang who is an absolutely scary lineman (believe me, I’ve rushed against him before), and Ti, whose knowledge of football could match any commentator’s. [continue reading...]