h e r n a m e i s s h i n

上個周末去san jose參加了生命河靈糧堂的20週年特會

這次我們這一車是禮拜五下班後才出發,
所以開到那已經差不多半夜兩點   囧
隔天一整天幾乎是呈現喪屍狀態….
眼睛有完全睜開的時間大概不超過1小時 lllOrz

雖然很累很趕, 但我還是很高興 i made that trip! 

很少有機會可以和一大群華人一起中文敬拜
老實說我一直都沒有太喜歡中文敬拜, 因為從一開始就是聽英文的,
聽習慣之後再聽中文詩歌就覺得很….華人lol  
像是詞曲和編曲, 都讓我覺得有點老氣與制式化..

但這次在特會中敬拜, 上帝依然使用其中一首歌來對我說話, 來感動我!
頓時間我覺得, 敬拜真的不在於詞寫的多好, 曲多好聽, 編曲多厲害...
而是在於心
神可以利用任何一首歌來感動那個願意敞開心來到祂面前的人!


另外一件開心的事是可以和幾個女生一起過夜spend times :D
每天面對電腦和廖先生還有屋子裡的其他臭男生實在是有點膩啊…哈哈哈 (誤)

禮拜六晚上聚會結束我們回到房間後就開始喇賽,
聊一堆少女的煩惱 LOL
我真的很不常跟女生hang out (太宅+太man), 所以這種與女孩兒們外宿的機會讓我覺得自己娘多了…  (是好事XD)

然後下面是本來在自拍  因為覺得浴室外面的燈光把我髮色照得很好看lol  結果sarah突然走過來害我覺得很白癡+尷尬, 只好來個大合照打混過去哈哈哈

we went to san jose this passed weekend to attend our mother church's 20 years anniversary conference & celebration. we left on friday night after work, so when we got there it's already 2am of saturday.... and the following day i was like a zombie the whole day! the amount of time that my eyes are widely opened was probably less than one hour.... lol! but even though the trip was kind of a rush and tiring, i'm still glad i made it.

i don't have too many experiences to do corporate worship with hundreds & thousands of chinese people. in chinese worship songs. 
to be honest, i really don't like chinese worship songs that much. because when i first became a christian i was listening to english only, and once i'm used to it, i started to feel awkward & weird when i listened to chinese songs. it's like.... the lyrics, melodies, and compositions are so old school and systematic. 
but somehow god still spoke to me & touched my heart through one of the chinese worship songs during this event. and i just realized that worship is really not about the song itself. it's not about how good the lyrics & melodies are, or how creative the compositions are, but about the heart. god can use any songs to touch the heart of that individual who's willing to open up before him. 

another thing that made me happy is i got to stay in the same room with other girls and just spend time with them :D  you know.. it's kinda boring to see mr. liao's face every single day... hahahaha (jk)
anyways, after saturday's service & meeting, we went back to our hotel room and lay on the bed and just chat. all sorts of girly topics lol. i rarely hang out with girls (coz i'm such a homebody + too manly). so this kind of sleepover really makes me feel more girly, which is a good thing XD

photos below: i was taking selfie outside the bathroom coz i thought the light makes my hair color looks really nice lol. but sarah came all of a sudden and i felt so embarrassing so i decided to take a group photo to ease my embarrassment..... hahaha 

而禮拜天的anniversary celebration也是很多洋蔥  
讓我時不時就需要擦個眼淚這樣 ><
看著我們母堂20年來的點滴, 神是怎樣的信實, 而祂的孩子是怎樣的聆聽與順服 進而經歷到祂的美好…  真的很鼓勵我!  
我也想要繼續一步一步的緊跟著我的上帝老爸~ oh yay!   

and i'm really really honored & proud to have impact as my spiritual family : )  

the sunday celebration was touching too.. just seeing how our mother church grew in the past 20 years, how faithful god is, how his children listened & obeyed, and how they experienced god's goodness... really encourages me. i wanna keep on following my heavenly daddy step by step too! 

and i'm really really honored & proud to have impact as my spiritual family : )  

聚會結束後, 我跟廖先生, elvis和sherry殺去了san francisco!  
時間非常的短, 但因為我太想念旅遊, 所以還是決定去晃晃~  

上一次去sf應該有個五六年前, 都快忘記那裡長什麼樣了!  
其實我好像從來沒有認真的玩過那裡, 毎次都是很趕的走馬看花~  
希望之後的北加四日遊可以發生 (我行程都排好了 :>o<: )  
這次雖然只有短短3小時, 也還是拍了許多令我開心的照片+吃到美味的海鮮 ㅋㅋ

after the gathering, me and mr. liao, elvis & sherry headed to san francisco right away! we only got a few hours but i still wanted to go coz i miss traveling so bad!
the last time i went was about 5 - 6 years ago.. i almost forgot what sf looks like! and i think i've never spent good quality time there, it's always so rushed.. (hopefully i could fulfill my 4 days north cal trip in the near future. i even have the itinerary done!) this time was a 3 hours sf getaway, short but satisfying : )  

人山人海的pier 39…  這天天氣超好, 艷陽高照, 天空和海都藍成一片

在人群中看到這位街頭藝人, 他居然自己做出真正的one-man band!!  
兩隻腳打鼓, 手彈電吉他bass跟key, 看得我都傻了!  怎麼可以這麼厲害!!!
(重點是長得還挺帥的 -///-)   (誤)

然後到fisherman's wharf吃路邊攤 哈哈 (站在攤子前面吃)
點了bread bowl clam chowder, fish & chips, 一隻dungeness crab!
螃蟹超級美味!!! 好甜好好吃~~ 
elvis還點了生蠔.. 但本人懼怕它 orz

there were floods of people at pier 39. the weather was perfect, blue sky and blue sea.... i'm in love.

and we saw this artist performing on the street, he truly is the one-man band!! he made his own instrument by combining drums, guitar, bass, keys... etc. all into one piece! that is just crazy! 

then we went to fisherman's wharf to get our lunch fixed. we ordered fish & chips, bread bowl clam chowder, and a big dungeness crab. the crab was so delicious!!  and elvis ordered another plate of oyster... which i'm kinda afraid of :/ 

喜愛sf的另外一點就是那滿滿的cables.... (我是不是很怪 哈哈)
就是愛那橫豎交錯的電線家族,  不經意劃出來的線條好美

還有一條條超級陡峭的小路也是這裡的經典之一!
叫我開車上去我會抖, 但很美麗是不可否認的 

another thing i love about sf is all the cables i see when i look up to the sky. all those crossing lines create a beautiful painting...

and those super steep alleys are also classic! i don't have the guts to drive up there but they are indeed pleasing to my eyes : )

經過這間beacon coffee & pantry, 廖先生說要買杯喝的
踏進店裡才發現原來是個超有品味/設計感的地方!  

好喜歡他們的interior, 有點工業+柏林風
很乾淨現代   但又不會太冰冷

我們坐下喝著cold chai latte, 順便幫相機電池充個電….. 哈

mr. liao said he wants to buy some drinks while we passed by this café: beacon coffee & pantry. after we stepped in we realized the interior of that shop is beyond our expectation! i absolutely love their design & overall feel! it's very clean & modern with a mix of industrial & berlin style, but not cold at all + very cozy and welcoming ❤
we sat down and sipped on our cold chai latte while recharging my camera battery... (good timing!)

接下來的照片全是從車上拍的    
long lens拿來旅行用真的頗方便啊哈

本來還想找地方停車拍golden gate bridge, 但時間不夠..
(再玩下去回到家都要半夜兩點了吧…)
結果居然還開過不錯的點,  可以拍到蠻完整的橋 ヽ(✿ﾟ▽ﾟ)ノ

the following photos were all taken from inside the car. (long lens is really good for traveling!)
originally i wanted to stop at some particular points to take good shots of the golden gate bridge, but turned out we didn't have that much of time... however, we actually passed by the bridge with a nice angle, and i managed to take a few pretty shots (happy).

開回la的途中有一段路  
兩旁都是枯黃的草, 遠看是滿滿的金色..
即使枯萎  也是美

六個小時的車程, 大家輪著開, 終於在夜晚將近12點  我們回到家
雖然身體疲累到一個極致, 但心是滿足的 : )
北加,  等我!

on our way back to la, there was a section with golden dried grass fields which is really beautiful~
we switched and drove a total of 6 hours... finally got back home around 12 midnight. all of us were exhausted, but with satisfactions in our hearts. (at least me lol).

north cal, please wait for my next visit!