In 2016, my university opened an opportunity for students to volunteer in Poland.

Being 50% Polish, I was naturally curious about my culture and signed up to go. I had never been.

The first day we landed, we were bussed to a Christian conference center in Southern Poland named ‘h2o’ where we had our orientation for the first few days.

Here, my soul revived.

It was so beautiful — I woke up to sunrises where the golden rays gently kissed everything, including our bedsheets and the open fields that surrounded us.

At dusk and dawn, we also had quiet times to sit by a lake to journal and pray.

[Funny story: One morning, my journal fell between the wooden planks of the lake’s boardwalk. It was supposed to be a goner!! But when a kind Polish staffer heard about it, he arrived at the scene and quickly dropped on all-fours, REMOVING the planks with an electric drill just in time to rescue my journal out of the murky water.]

After trainings, we played basketball, did tight-roping (among other fun things), and met Polish leaders from around the country who deeply believed in loving the next generation of young people.

At the end of the day, we went back to our cabins and fell fast asleep, dreaming about what the next few weeks of teaching English in Poland would be like.

I loved this place; it was where I had my first interactions with Poles (my people!)

It would also be the launchpad for our team’s work in Western Poland (which I enjoyed so much that I came back to volunteer with the same Christian organization in 2017).

☀️
In a dramatic turn of events, this same conference center now houses Ukrainian refugees.

It’s surreal to think that the very cabins we slept in six years ago are now safe spaces for people who were just in Putin’s crosshairs six weeks ago.

Being a displaced person far from home is very un-ideal, to say the least.

I’m so thankful, though, that of all the places in the world, some of them get to be at h2o, waking up to the same sunrises that I did, sitting by the same lake, and maybe encountering the same man who bothered to save a journal that meant so much to me.

☀️
The friendly Polish leaders I met then now have new responsibilities: Organizing logistics in one of the largest mass migrations our world has ever seen.

Some of them are even risking their lives to transport people and goods across Ukraine’s border.

As dark as the world is this Easter, God’s Heaven is touching the earth in real places like at h2o.

When all seems lost, never forget that an unassuming Man named Jesus (Who was deader than dead) walked out of His grave some 2,000 years ago. He still lives!

Since then, He has changed history and still does, bringing Heaven into people’s hearts and helping them to share it with the world.

He’s doing that at h2o — an unassuming little place that God is using to make history.

What comes to your mind when you think of your first name?

I’ll be honest: Not much comes to my mind when I think of my name, Jasmine.

(Other than jasmine green tea, jasmine rice, the movie Aladdin…)

Last week, a coworker of mine texted me and said when she was praying for me, God showed her a white flower in bloom – a jasmine.

“Oh yeah, I sometimes forget my name is associated with the flower!” I told her.

A few days later, I was taking a walk by myself. I passed a jasmine shrub growing on the side of the road. Stopping for a closer look, a quiet thought arose in my heart:

“It’s not an accident you were named after jasmine flowers.”

It was God’s familiar voice. So gentle, always surprising me with the things He says.

“But honestly God, I’m not a fan of plain white flowers. And jasmine blooms are small and unassuming - pretty easy to miss!”

I almost forgot about this until today, I received a text message from another friend who said:

Jasmine, I was praying for you, and in my mind, I saw white jasmine flowers.

What??? 3 times this week, I’ve had a ‘jasmine’ moment hahaha

(Btw, she doesn’t know my first friend at all! And I had told no one about my run-in with the jasmine shrub last Friday.)

I’m still unpacking what God is trying to show me. One thing He’s shown me so far: ‘white’ flowers aren’t boring.

White is a symbol of purity. For me, purity is being simple and uncomplicated. I know in our world, we can tend to downplay people who are simple hearted. For some reason, we tend to be attracted to drama, complexity, conspiracy.

But I’m so glad Jesus says it’s those who are pure in heart who will see God.

To be “Pure in heart” simply means this: To recognize our ‘littleness’ and need for Jesus’ amazing love to embrace us in all stages of life. He loves it when we depend on Him for everything.

In conclusion: Yes, I might be named after a small unassuming white flower. But in the hands of Jesus, He sees something much more.

So, what’s your first name? It’s not an accident. I pray God shows you why it was chosen just for you.

P.S. If you’re feeling a bit small, my mom wants me to share that good things come in small packages. hehe 📦

^ View from the Raffles Marina Lighthouse in Singapore

I want to share a joke I just heard —

There was once a powerful naval ship sailing in the dead of night. The captain saw a beam of light ahead and called out into the speaker system:

“ATTENTION, I AM CAPTAIN X AND YOU ARE IN OUR WAY. PLEASE MOVE OR WE WILL COLLIDE.”

No response. A few minutes later, the captain sent the same message to the unknown seacraft.

Still nothing. The mysterious beam of light was moving closer and closer… then finally, a response came:

“ATTENTION, CAPTAIN X, THIS IS THE LIGHTHOUSE. PLEASE CHANGE COURSE NOW, OR YOU’RE DONE!”

LOL….burn!!! Why am I sharing this?

Because sometimes…I’m Captain X! I think God (the unshakable lighthouse) should accommodate my plans.

But He’s God for heaven’s sake! He’s not the one who should change. It’s me.

Just this week, I was thinking about all the prayers I ‘begged’ God to answer when I moved to Singapore:

— Please give me this type of job.

— Please give me this type of house.

— Please give me these types of friends.

You know what? None of them were answered. But that doesn’t mean God can’t hear or has chosen to ignore me. I know He’s heard all my prayers.

His answers just didn’t come in the way I expected.

— He didn’t just give me a job, He gave me a passion.
— He didn’t just give me a house, He gave me a home.
— He didn’t just give me some friends, He gave me family.

They all looked different than what I prayed for – I’m just glad the Holy Spirit taught me to stay open to new possibilities.

If you’re struggling to stay open to God’s plans, I totally get you. I cried my eyes out when I was ‘rejected’ by my dream employer in Oct 2019. I couldn’t even get a foot in the door.

But you know what? 2.5 years later, I wouldn’t change a thing. I love that God brought me to Singapore instead where I’ve been able to be with my family and work alongside some of the most amazing people (including my mom, who is my coworker now, 😂)

Maybe you still don’t see why God hasn’t answered your prayers. This is my honest prayer for you right now:

Jesus, I pray that this person realizes how much You love them. I pray that they believe with You, all things are possible. At times, You close opportunities to protect us. Please open our eyes to the better things You have in store. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

I’ll link a podcast below that’s really helped me with this!

Love,
Jasmine

P.S. I’ll be getting news this week about something I’ve been praying for a long time about. Honestly, getting a ‘no’ could be devastating… so pray for me too! I want to be open to God’s plans, not my own. Updates coming soon hehe 🙃

The most afraid I’ve been of dying was in Jan 2020.

It was a weeknight, and I was driving out to meet college friends for dinner. The sky got really dark and it started pouring. But I didn’t think much of it. It was just rain!

Getting on a California highway I was super familiar with, I prepared for a cozy 30-min drive. But I quickly realized, to my horror, that the defroster in my mom’s car wasn’t working.

I clicked the button several times. Then I tried turning the AC on full-blast. But my windshield only got mistier. Pretty soon, all I could see was a cloud of white. I started using one of my hands to furiously wipe down the condensation. It just made it worse.

If you can imagine driving on a highway with a blindfold on, that was me. I was terrified.

All I could do was cry, “Jesus, help me! Jesus, save me!”

Suddenly He gave me an idea. Holding the steering wheel in one hand and letting go of the other, I started to wind down my window. Rain blew in, but the gusts of cold air helped the windshield to clear up a little.

When I could finally see again, I quickly pulled into a right shoulder lane and pulled the breaks. I closed my eyes and let dozens of cars pass me. I just breathed until the adrenaline rush in my heart finally slowed. “I’m alive,” was what I remembered.

I ended up calling my friends and telling them I couldn’t make it and went home. It felt like the longest car-ride of my life.

Today, I had flashbacks of this as I thought about all the people in the world who are feeling fearful.

I felt real fear that night because I couldn’t see what was coming up next (literally), yet I know this is nothing compared to the uncertainty Ukrainians and Russians are facing right now.

But I do know one thing: The moment I called out to Jesus, things changed. Instead of getting into a major accident (which was highly likely) on a big highway, He literally made a way out for me.

When Jesus tells us in the Bible to “Fear not,” it isn’t because He expects us to be super brave in the face of crazy situations. It’s because He’s literally right next to us, all the time. With Him protecting us, we truly have nothing to fear. He knows what’s coming up next, and He’ll show us the way we should go.

When I look back at that night, I realized my “salvation” came the moment I allowed my hand to come off the steering wheel so that I could wind down my window instead.

In the same way, when Jesus tells us to “fear not,” He’s asking us to let go of whatever we’re so afraid of losing control over. Then He can step in and help.

I’m so glad He helps us, and He’s just one breath away.

What a powerful name it is,
The name of Jesus.

Today, someone told me, “There’s a girl about your age who’s doing really well… she’s a manager, making a lot, and knows a lot about financial investment…”

For a split second, I thought, “Dang, what am I doing with my life?”

I brushed the thought aside. But then, God used three people to send me the exact same Bible verse all within the same day (shown above) 👆

These three people don’t even know each other — what are the chances that out of 31,102 verses in the Bible, they’d send me the same one?

God does funny things to get our attention, haha.

I read the verse a few times, but I didn’t get what God was trying to tell me until I asked Jesus, “What are you trying to tell me?” hahaha I love being straight-up.

Then I was suddenly reminded of the thought that caused a flash of insecurity in me earlier that afternoon. Only Jesus could’ve known how I felt on the inside.

Jesus saw me, and He wanted me to know that as long as I remained in Him, I’d be fruitful. I’d be satisfied. I’d be full of His life ♥️

I’m soo glad Jesus doesn’t say in that verse, “As long as you’re constantly upskilling yourself, working tirelessly, and calculating how to make the most out of life, THEN you’ll bear much fruit.”

^ I’ve been there, tried that, and had “results” that were quickly lost.

But a life of trusting Jesus and getting to know Him more — it’s only brought me more peace, more rest, more joy. And everything that needed to work out, worked out.

Not because I’m smart or mighty or privileged; but because I’m weak, unwise, and ordinary. And that’s why I need Jesus, and He’s soo willing to work through me.

Ever since I was young, I’ve been obsessed with small things. Miniature jewelry boxes, miniature cooking sets, miniature porcelain animals.

I love incredibly tiny details.

Maybe this has helped me to pay close attention to the little things that God brings my way.

☀︎︎

Today, I went to see a friend, and she pulled out a small silver strainer.

“It doesn’t fit my bottle, so here you go!“

I wasn’t sure if I’d have any use for it either, but interestingly, I had just thought about how nice it would be to have a cold brew bottle earlier in the day —

(A cold brew bottle allows you to put coffee grounds or tea leaves into a central strainer, so the flavor gently diffuses into your water without creating a mess.)

Since I’ve been drinking a lot of tea lately, I was kinda tired of always swallowing loose tea leaves swirling in my mug, lol ☕︎︎

I brought the strainer home, and glanced at the mouth of my thermos.

I don’t think the strainer is going to fit, I thought, disappointed.

But when I gave it a try, all of a sudden, I heard: click.

The strainer fit like a glove. A Cinderella-slipper-kind-of perfect fit.

I texted my friend. She texted me back:

“I love it.
❤️
God moment.”

I smiled. Did God really know that hours before, I had just been wishfully hoping for a bottle with a built-in tea strainer?

I think so. :)

I learned today:

The love of Christ, though too great for me to understand fully, knows how to meet me in such small yet perfectly profound ways.

Love is about the little things.

Tenderness.

Last month, I woke up in the middle of the night and couldn’t go back to sleep.

My mom and I share a room, and for the first time in a long time, I took a few minutes to simply look at her warm face.

I love my mom because she’s so tender. In that moment, God started showing me how beautiful tenderness is, especially in a woman.

And everyone needs tenderness.

Then I looked at my wrist. Interestingly, a friend gave me a bracelet for my birthday that I was wearing. When she gave it to me, I remembered she said to stay “tender.”

So I’ve been thinking about this word - and I felt the Lord giving me a revelation:

The parts of me that I have not been tender with have suffered. Withered.

Hence, the picture of my scalp. Yes, I was losing hair and only realized this recently. It happened because I was pushing beyond my limits, pursuing capability rather than the ways of Jesus.

I forgot to be tender. But I’m so glad the story doesn’t end there.

Recently, I was reminded of the man in the Bible with the withered hand. Jesus said to Him, “Stretch our your hand,” and it was completely restored.

I imagine Jesus said it to him tenderly.

Jesus’ tenderness was an extension of grace. He healed people tenderly.

He moved at a pace in which he could be tender with the people who wanted him near.

He stopped to assure people, “Don’t cry, I’m here.”

When we are tender with something or someone, we touch gently. We speak softly. We stop insisting on our way.

We slow down, recognize needs, and by God’s Spirit, we start to meet the need in ways we would have never imagined.

The beginning of 2022 has been good. Not just because my hair is growing back, but also because I now pray a new prayer:

Abba Father, give me a tender heart.

When I moved to Singapore in Oct 2020, it was life-changing, difficult, surprising, and beautiful.

I want to include you in this unfolding story, so I’ll be linking an excerpt from my journal below 💁‍♀️

*Note: I’m currently upgrading my blog, www.joyandolives.squarespace.com to a new platform! I’ll link it below when it’s ready ☻