Red Roses without Thorns

Happy new year! I’d like to start this post with two requests. I’ll first list the requests, and then the reason for the requests. Here are the requests: Here are the reasons: 501c3: About 90% of the churches in the US are registered as 501c3. This means they are tax-exempt. I’d initially (maybe like you)…

At the end of May this year, my mom, Sonia Ko Park, passed away after a long bout of suffering and being confined to a hospital. We are thankful for the time we were able to see her and spend time with her. I remember my mom, from the time when I was very little,…

One of the scariest dreams that I’ve ever had, and I remember it to this day, was about a plane crash. This was during my high school days. I’d dreamed that I was looking up in the sky, and there was a large plane. It suddenly started spiraling down, down, down into the large field…

I woke up to the patter of feet, and our dog, Lucky, running into our bedroom in the early morning. Sitting up groggily, I glanced quickly up and went back to sleep. Next thing I knew, I heard a shwee-ee-ee… and I jumped out of bed and ran over to where Lucky was. There he…

Warning: some mention of disturbing content. Several years ago, I was teaching English at a language school in San Francisco. Students from all over attended, of all age ranges. One day, an older woman from the Netherlands came up to me. Teacher, she said, I want to show you something. And she took out her…

Romans 8:17-39 Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed, we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory. I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. The creation…

She was a small ball of yellow fluff, only a day old. We brought her home and my son Aidan was excited. There were three others: Kiwi, Violet, Blueberry. But Daisy was special . . . she was gentle, slow, and sweet. They were all friendly, chirping and peeping—running to and fro from the waterer,…

Dear family and friends, Normally I’d send out a Christmas greeting with a picture of family for Christmas, almost every year. But this year has been a year like no other. So instead of a picture this year, just wanted to encourage you because God knows we need a lot of encouragement right now, myself…

Back in February 2020, just before COVID-19 became the harsh reality in the U.S., my son got sick for almost a month.  It was a frightening time, a sobering time, but this was the time God used to open my eyes and deepen my faith. During that time, I literally was clinging to God each…

We’ve all been through (or are going through) difficult and painful things.  Some things, in time, will be resolved.  Other things won’t be resolved this side of heaven.  As I hear things in the news, events happening in my own family, and painful things occurring with friends, neighbors, coworkers, and acquaintances, sometimes it gets to…