2 days till departure!

It's been an interesting experience this week with uncertainty of not being able to leave looming over our trip as the result of the volcanic eruption in Iceland. There was an ash cloud that could have prevented us from even leaving Calgary. At times like these its definitely trying as something you can't control can prevent you from leaving on a trip you've looked forward to going on for a couple of months! The only thing I can do is to rely on God's sovereignty and pray that air travel resumes and our flight not canceled!

This also marks the day before my graduation celebrations take place. I am definitely still feeling nostalgic about it all. One things for sure though, these past 7 years in post-secondary were definitely the best years of my life and I won't trade this experience for anything! I guess it is time to close this chapter of my life and move on knowing that God has everything in control!

I do want to leave this for you readers.. if you are thinking of going into post-secondary: get involved, and don't miss out on the opportunity to try new things or build solid friendships. This is YOUR time to enjoy life before it is full of responsibilities (not saying you don't have any now!). If you are already in school, enjoy it to the fullest! Get involved! See you all around!

Birthday Blog!

Hmmm.. I decided to take a break from writing my ethics paper and write a blog on my birthday. Oh yes, I do live an exciting life. Homework on my birthday! woot! Anyways, it has been a good week! We had one extra day of holidays and it's definitely needed to catch up on sleep and get a head-start on writing my final term paper. In the midst of all this business, I also official received my first land title and also got a new knee-brace after I lost my old one (yes stupid me).

Yet, that is probably not the best thing that has happened. My hockey team, the Calgary Flames, have clawed their way back into playoff contention! It has been a gut wrenching couple of weeks as I followed them as they fought through a post Olympic haze and went on a roller coaster ride though wins and losses. Sometimes I want to kick those multimillionaires in the tail end myself to get em going (mostly cuz im just jealous).

Reflecting on this weekend, I should mention that it is honour to share this 25th birthday with Easter falling on the same weekend. There is no other way to make it more memorable than to celebrate this milestone remembering the sacrifice that Jesus made to allow us, as humanity, the chance to embrace the grace and forgiveness of Jesus and be accepted as God's children with the promise of eternal life in heaven! At lasts week's church service at Centre Street Church, we watched a dramatic presentation of God's "Love Story" for us. It served as a very vivid reminder that while we often don't deserve it, God's love for us is unparalleled and we just have to choose to surrender to Him. During this service, a quartet also covered Point of Grace's - "The Great Divide". It's an awesome oldie from the 90s (yes, as I get older I can use the term 'oldie' haha). You should youtube it.

Back to my paper now.. but I have a sudden craving for a birthday Peter's Drive-In Milkshake. It's unfortunate they are closed now >.<

Easter!

Well, it’s been a while since I’ve written on here! I guess it is that time of year though; deadlines are looming and papers and assignments aren’t getting done! Haha. School is quickly approaching a close and graduation and Europe is quickly approaching! Hardly a day passes without it crossing my mind.. definitely both exciting and intimidating though!


In the midst of everything happening around me, I often forget the special day that is fast approaching: Easter. While it might be commercialized and often overlooked ‘holiday’, as Christians, it is one of the most important events that we need to remember. Because of these three days, the ultimate sacrifice has been paid and our lives redeemed from eternal condemnation. What a glorious moment to remember and NEVER forget. I think I definitely don’t realize the full magnitude of Jesus’ death on the cross sometimes. It is so easy to get caught up with living life that this sacrificial act is taken for granted. I was on my iTunes this past Sunday and this song came on: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DsGF9xJl9ZY. The first two lines reminded me of how great it is to have God love us as He does. “He overcame the cross and grave” to find my soul – now that is a powerful love that we are graced with!

the last 2 weeks!

My last two weeks have been quite exhausting. Assignments are mounting up and procrastination has taken hold! Hah. On a brighter side, the last couple of weekends have been fun. Legacy Youth Conference took place during the first weekend of March and that was a huge success. It was amazing to see so many youth give their lives in commitment to Jesus. It was also awesome to see the hard work and planning of our Central Planning Team as LYC went off without a hitch!

The first weekend of March also featured the Futsal championships—held in Three Hills. Ambrose played well and both our women’s and men’s teams took gold! Hopefully, our teams will be able to make it to the next level and gain more exposure in the ACAC!  Here are the pictures that I took during the championships! http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=160372&id=503605587&l=491194786a

I also gave a 3h presentation on the topic “The Business of Church” for my capstone business course. I was able to examine the issue of how church has become contextualized and operate very similar to a business. During this discussion, I, along with my class, investigated whether this is detrimental or necessary.

I have also been working on my yearbook for this year. It’s been fun highlighting what, to me, have been the highlights of the year. A preview is available here: http://www.danielyu.com/yearbook_09-10/

There are two words that sums up my weekend....

Futsal Champions!!!!!!

yeah olympics!

We had the privilege of hosting the Winter Olympics here in Canada for the past couple of weeks. What an amazing feeling it was to watch as Canada marched its way to a record setting 14 gold medals! Even though I wasn’t there physically, it was amazing to hear the crowd belt out our national anthem when are athletes win gold! I also enjoyed our rabid curling fans when they started singing the national anthem midway through a curling match. While there were complaints about other teams getting rattled, my response is that “if they can’t deal with the noise, they shouldn’t be there in the first place!” My favourite moment of the games was definitely Team Canada sweeping hockey gold yet again. I think it is a fitting way to break the record by being the best in our sport – hockey! It is even better as we took out the United States on the way to gold! I think I can honestly say that I hate team USA more than I hate the Oilers or Canucks! Haha

Anyways, the school front has been interesting. I had a chance to teach a class on the Business of Church. This wasn’t just your normal 10min class presentation; instead, it was a 3h class that we had to lead! It was an interesting experience to say the least. The end of the semester is near and the course work is getting intense. It is going to be a fun last push to finish off all my assignments and exams before graduating at the end of the semester! I am definitely both excited and a little scared of what is to come. Life is definitely going to be a lot different when I’m not at school daily.

The Futsal championships are also this weekend. Our teams look strong and have the experience of playing in a higher level league than our own! We have a really strong chance of taking it all and will hopefully bring back some championship banners for the first time in a couple of years!

Reading Week!

You know, the best week in all of university education schooling is probably Reading Week, yes the infamous week where students all take the time to read and catch up on the crazy amounts of homework that professors hand out! Haha! In reality, reading week is probably a student’s best excuse to go home, relax and recharge before the final part of the school year! My week was actually quite interesting. I geeked it up by being at school and doing homework (yes, I was one of those odd ones!) It was actually needed as I have a class presentation that will last about 2 hours that I had to prepare for.


There was one thing that was exciting at the start however. I tagged along with the Futsal teams down on their trip to Medicine Hat for an ACAC tournament. As an ACAL team, we went in as underdogs, but held our own and came in 6th of 8 teams! I personally observed opposing coaches and players unhappy that they weren’t destroying us!

Oh yes, Michelle and Wally, two of my “friends” pranked me after I had entrusted Michelle with my locker combination. Here is the youtube video of me cleaning up after the mess that was my locker: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qff6-gg-Cgo. Very well done guys. I had quite the laugh as you can tell.

That’s all for now!

What a week!

This week has definitely been an interesting one. It has been one that has been filled with sleep deprivation, homework, and futsal! I am also going to Europe at the end of April for a final Business Class that will tour through some of the major countries like England, Germany, Belgium, Czech Republic, and Poland! This is probably the biggest field trip I will ever take part of during a class! haha

I also got to start my first career ACAL Futsal game. Check that, my first ever start in any form of competitive sport! Thanks to my forwards and defence, I was able to get my first career ACAL futsal win as a goalkeeper! Exciting, yes, but also very nerve racking. I was definitely shaking before and not sleeping well the entire week before Saturday!

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=3935062&l=dff5fefab0&id=503605587

late night/early morning ramblings..

It's been a while since a late night blog post has been written. I've been trying to be a good student and sleeping at humane times. (haha yeah right, who am I kidding!) So here are some thoughts from this last week. I think I'll start from the most recent events.


1) The Calgary Flames --- what a week for my favourite hockey team! Breaking the 9 game losing streak by beating on a hapless Oiler team! NBD! I love sending our northern neighbours to a losing streak of a Rider's dozen! (w00t I was able to make fun of two teams I hate in one sentence!) Also we made some blockbuster trades that shook up the team. I still don't know what to think about the Dion Phaneuf trade, it seems like an awful waste of potential on a guy that is improving lots. Even so, I thought we should have gotten WAY more then what we got for Phaneuf. A Schenn as well maybe? Jokinen is also rumored to be gone. What a relief! I wonder what Darryl Sutter has in store for us fans! Anywho.. in Sutter we trust! haha

2) Shinny on the ODR is alot of fun! Especially, when you are playing with some of your best friends! I am definitely grateful for Canadian weather and an natural love for the game of hockey. Nothing is better then a mild evening and playing a pick up game of hockey on the local outdoor rink! The company of good friends, and awesome sports is something that is unbeatable!

3) You know, as I am nearing the end of my university career, I often think of what God has in mind for me. My future:whether its my job, relationships or what I am going to be are often things that cross my mind. Tonight, well I guess its 0230 and its technically last night, I was reminded about what God's plan for me is. Matthew 28, in the Great Commission, God calls us to make disciples of all nations. I think I get caught up in looking for what I want in my life and often forget that God dictates and holds the future in my life. I am not saying that working hard at school is unimportant, but I believe that, as a Christian, I should never lose sight of the ultimate goal. I was also reminded of God's promise to not worry about what will happen if I trust and obey. Matthew 28:20 reads: "And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." Isn't it comforting to know that even though you might feel small and insignificant, He is there for you until the end of time!
 
ok.. sleep beckons :) have a good night!

Shock!!

One of the biggest things that I care about is hockey and about my team, the Calgary Flames. I woke up this morning to this headline: "The Calgary Flames have traded Dion Phaneuf to the laughs (oopps. leafs)". Talk about a shocking morning! The players coming back are interesting Stajan, White, Mayers, and Hagman. I would have thought we could have gotten more! Im still digesting this trade.


... still in shock..

1 - 0 in my ACAL exhibition career! haha

Well, this weekend was the Futsal tournament hosted by St. Mary's at Ambrose (ironic, yes!) haha. The best part was being able to play in an exhibition friendly because St. Mary's team didn't show! The better part of it was that I won and now I can retire with a perfect record.. w00t!

Pictures: Futsal Pics, more Futsal Pics.

Matthew 6 - Giving to the Needy

Here is a thought provoking question: How do we explain this Bible passage?

Matthew 6


Giving to the Needy

1"Be careful not to do your 'acts of righteousness' before men, to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.

2"So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. 3But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. - BibleGateway.

How should we respond to this verse? 

New Toy!!

Yes, the long awaited time has come! I have finally purchased an iPhone! It has got to be the most useful gadget ever! This makes me sound uber geeky, but I definitely spent most of Saturday afternoon checking out all the apps and functions of my new iPhone. Oh yes, text messenging has also been streamlined with the phone saving all previous conversations :)

Before I sound like an Apple employee (yes, i recommend Apple for all your mobile needs ;) ), here are some news articles that caught my eye.

1) Albertan Fish is apparently inedible.

It is amazing how people will pay top dollar to listen to people's opinion. Perhaps I should think of something controversial and make money off it. In the meantime, I'm going to keep enjoying inedible fish and mad cow ;)

2) Good news for students!

The recent recession might have brought a world of trouble for people in general, but finally some good! Let's hope this turns out right. It's about time there was a freeze!

One more thing, I now have possession of my house. However, Enmax (the power company in Calgary) apparently has either not processed my utilities account and power was cut off while I was showing off the house to friends and making nachos! Bizarre!

P.S. Our 4-year Bachelor of Business Administration is here! Finally a legit degree! haha

Oh well, I'm off! It is almost class time! \\ // / (live long and prosper! haha)

New Semester!

Here we go again! The start of another exciting semester. It has been a great start so far! The weather is nice, classes are good, and I’m starting the last semester of my undergraduate postsecondary career (hopefully that is.. jk). I am definitely both excited and anxious as to what life after school would be like. It will definitely be interesting to consider life without school!

Athletics have also begun again for the new semester. Our teams are looking strong and ready to compete for top spots in the ACAL! Keep an eye out on my facebook for pictures of the many sporting events that go on! If you have missed it earlier, the volleyball championships held at Ambrose has been a huge success. http://www.danielyu.com/acalvball09 is where you can check out these pictures!

Classes have also been going well so far. This semester, I am enrolled in: Intermediate Financial Accounting, Business in the European Union, Ethics, and Business Issues from a Christian Perspective. While all are upper level classes and require lots of work, they are all extremely exciting. The EU course is also a prerequisite for a travel study to Europe at the end of April!

Aside from school, things have been going quite well! The most exciting thing is having a house to call my own! Yes.. a house, well that and massively in debt. Oh well. I shall put up some pictures when I get a chance to, I haven’t been able to get the right lens yet.


If you have any questions about Ambrose or the Business Administration and the Christian Studies program here at Ambrose, feel free to email me at: dyuwork@ambrose.edu