Mind the Gap

This pandemic and subsequent quarantine present a unique opportunity to reflect on everything that's been going on. I, too, feel like I've been learning and being reminded of so much. I wanted to share the lessons that God has been putting on my heart, in hopes of encouraging you to also chew on what God has been showing you during this time, whether it be about yourself, the world, and/or God and His character. I pray that we can be open and ready for how God is using this time to shape and mold us to come out of this pandemic with a deeper understanding of who God is, who we are based on who God says we are, and the rest of the world in relation to us and God. I feel like God is calling us into stillness and a time of listening and abiding, and though it's hard to be physically alone, I wanted to make this episode to share what's been on my heart because I know that I am not the only one thinking these things. There is solidarity not only in how physically close we may be, but in spirit and in truth. You are not alone and we will get through this!

This pandemic and subsequent quarantine present a unique opportunity to reflect on everything that's been going on. I, too, feel like I've been learning and being reminded of so much. I wanted to share the lessons that God has been putting on my heart, in hopes of encouraging you to also chew on what God has been showing you during this time, whether it be about yourself, the world, and/or God and His character. I pray that we can be open and ready for how God is using this time to shape and mold us to come out of this pandemic with a deeper understanding of who God is, who we are based on who God says we are, and the rest of the world in relation to us and God. I feel like God is calling us into stillness and a time of listening and abiding, and though it's hard to be physically alone, I wanted to make this episode to share what's been on my heart because I know that I am not the only one thinking these things. There is solidarity not only in how physically close we may be, but in spirit and in truth. You are not alone and we will get through this!

With the new year comes new year's resolutions, and so that's what I've brought to you today. However, instead of things I've resolved to do, here is a list of things I intend and will do my best to do this year. Splitting them up into 4 categories, I will share some spiritual/faith-based, relational, health, and personal intentions that I plan to carry out through 2020. Though it's already February, it is not too late to write down some of your intentions and goals for the year. Hopefully, this is an encouragement to think about what you want to accomplish or improve on in 2020. It's not about perfecting these things but slowly working at them! So, here's to 2020 and here's to trying! 

It is already the end of 2019 AND the end of season 1 for the Mind the Gap podcast! It only seemed fitting to end the year with a thoughtful reflection on everything that has gone in 2019. I realized while writing this episode that I don't reflect all too much on a regular basis, and I honestly let things fly by without having time to be grateful or more introspective about the lessons learned through the highs and the lows. This episode is a little bit on the longer side and is more conversational than others because I wanted it to feel like a chat about everything that went on in my life: the good, the bad, and the ugly, but also the beautiful. I go month-by-month, recapping the high points, the low points, and a lil something I learned in that month in hopes that maybe you may relate to one of them. It was pretty cool to look back on the little and big moments and see how God was in them with me. He is glorified in our victories and dwells with us in our suffering. He is in the remembrance of our happiest memories while redeeming and working through the sorrow we have experienced. May you reflect on His goodness, mercy, faithfulness, and love as you close this year. Happy Christmas and Happy New Year! Whether you've had the best year of your life or the worst year of your life, remember: The best is yet to come! 

Starting a job meant one new thing in my life: cash flowww! And with money comes responsibility. Something that I always saw around me but never understood too much growing up in the church was giving, offering, and tithing. I knew that Christians gave to church, but I didn't know why. Now that I've started a job with an income, I needed to figure out what the significance of giving was and how I should go about it. This new issue became magnified when my dad suggested I offer up my whole first income as an offering. But what if I didn't want to? And where in the Bible does God even command that? So many questions and not enough answers were stored up in my head. So, I did some research in order to educate myself and maybe even bring some insight into giving of firstfruits, the significance of offering in the Old Testament (Moses's time), and what God has commanded 21st century Christians (like myself) to do with regards to offering/giving. Along the way, I let you guys in the failures in my giving history and what I decided to do with my first paycheck. So, join me as I do some digging on the Internet, in the Bible, and in my own heart, as I go on a quest to answer these question on what to do when we start experiencing cash flow. 

This week, I'll be talking about the topic of comparison. A friend brought this up in conversation, and months later, here's a podcast on what I think about this topic. We've all done it, and it kind of stinks when you sucked into the comparison game, whether it's comparing your talents, how you look, and/or your life circumstances. It's always easy to lift up a sign to the heavens and ask God, 'Why me?'. I've definitely done it many-a-times in my life. Maybe it's something that I'll always struggle with, so I thought I will provide some encouragement for myself and all of you other folk who may struggle with this, as well. I focus on comparison in the 3 areas of talents/gifts/skills, body image/physical appearance, and life circumstances. I really wanted to focus on Scripture and what the Bible says about each of these 3 areas of our lives, so that we can grow to find contentment in how God has created us and joy through suffering and the difficulties we face. May we grab onto the truths and promises of God and cling to hope and joy as we fight comparison in our lives!

This week, I wanted to dedicate a whole episode to talk about spiritual slumps/dryness because that's where I'm at right now. I want this podcast to be honest and real as to what's going on currently in my life as I live out my gap year(s), and currently, I'm slumping. It's been a couple months of feeling apathy in my walk with God and I wanted to address it so that I can speak truth into this drought and hopefully encourage some of you in the same place. Spiritual slumps are something that I am not new to, but it slowly becomes old. I start to wonder if I'll ever have a fire reignited in my heart for the Lord. When will my desire to read the Word and pray return? In the midst of spiritual dryness, often, there doesn't seem to be an end. However, there is hope! I want to shed some light on what I personally go through during spiritual slumps and share some not-so-new thoughts on the dangers of spiritual slumps that affect this generation particularly. I hope you will hop on along for the ride, whether you're in a slump or not, because it's a universal thing that us Christians deal with! You are not alone because I'm right there with ya! 

If you know me, then you know that I have many different interests, many of which are not the most hip or popular. I am going to be having a series of sorts on my podcast where I explain to you why I love these things in hopes that you may learn a little bit more about me and so that I can maybe peak your interest regarding these things. I'm starting off this series with musicals (Broadway or otherwise). It's definitely a niche interest and it can be difficult to understand or even like, but lemme try to convince you why you should give it a chance.  I'll explain how the experiences in my life have shaped me to be a musical fanatic, the technical aspects of the music that make musicals so genius, and some reasons as to why people have a hard time getting into musicals in hopes that I can change your mind by getting all of the excuses out of the way. Though I am no musical expert, I do have many years of listening to show tunes under my belt, so I think I can give you the Yen's Declassified of musicals/Broadway. Before you even begin to listen, one reason why you should give musicals a chance is because only in the musical world can Gretchen Wieners have a surprisingly deep moment while she battles an identity crisis. Yes, that's right -- there is a Mean Girls musical. So, take a chance on me, and have a listen as I tell you why I love musicals and why you should, too. 

Post-grad has come with its good share of alone time, and after many months of very few human interactions, it's been getting  a tad lonely. I'm sure you can understand this even if you're not in the post-grad stage of life. While thinking about loneliness, I came to understand how I use social media as a means to combat loneliness. In this episode, I discuss the topics of loneliness in college + post-grad life, finstas + my theories as to why people have them, and my experience with social media, sharing, and how I really think the desire to share our lives is just a basic human characteristic. If you're feeling lonely, have a listen. If you're struggling in college and post-grad with fostering intentional relationships, have a listen. If you have no idea what a finsta is, have a listen. Cheers, Yen 

I'm Yen, and welcome to my podcast, Mind the Gap! I wanted to take this time to introduce the what and why of this podcast: why I made this podcast, what the name means, my intentions for this podcast, and what sort of things I'll be talking about. I am very excited to go on this new journey, and I'm glad that I can share it with you! 

Time has just been flying by, and in that time, there have been some changes! Mostly, I want to just hop on to say hi and let ya'll know what's been going on with me. Along with that, I wanted to see how well I've been adhering to my 2020 Intentions (re: Ep. 7: 2020 Intentions). So, if you want to get a quick catch-up on my life and reflect with me on my 2020 resolutions/intentions, have a listen! 

(I mention the app Good on You in the episode, but I said the wrong name -- so yes, it should be Good on You)