the bling has blung

welcome to bling bling. a.k.a. the OEX household. ni hao. gototheworld.com

so sayeth the sign greeting all of our guests yesterday at the very first party of the year at the Bling Bling; my birthday party.

there were people from toronto, waterloo, london, and calgary. it was like a mini-project reunion for all 3 summer projects. it was really good to see people that i haven't seen in ages, reminisce, reconnect, and get made fun of....

we got people to introduce themselves and say where they knew me from. then becky got peeps to share their favorite memory of me and or something they like about me. it was really encouraging and touching. a testament to Jesus' work in my life especially margie's memory of me from first year. i was scared to bits of going sharing, and freaked out to even give out flyers for Passion of the Christ. sometimes i still feel like that. as i sat there and listened i hoped that what everyone heard was not the ability and the passion of shelly chen to do things for Jesus, but how He has used me for His purposes. that they would see it was not me, that it was the Lord, the same Lord in their lives who can use them.

it was also enlightening as i found out how people viewed me and i even found out some stuff that i didn't know about...like how ben knows me because i dated his best friend. [sic] there were definitely some funny awkward moments. i don't think i'll ever forget heather macgregs blowing my cover. hahaha on one hand i was cringing. on the other hand i wanted to laugh.

God has brought so many solid friends into my life. quality and quantity. more than i could have asked for.

highlights
* blowing out all 21 candles. yay! but alas no boyfriends. ;)
* getting the ESV Bible that i've been coveting for a year after i saw lydia's

vanessa: "are you going to open your presents?"
me: "sure if you want me to."
shakes vanessa's gift
me: "is it chocolate?"
vanessa: "no"
i stand there as my eyes slowly widen as understanding dawns.......then..
a typical excited shelly scream

* getting the mini scrapbook that i've been coveting since becky and i first went to paper moon, this scrapbooking store.
* seeing so many projectiles
* the birthday cake made with loooooove

thanks becky mitts for all this. you're an awesome housemate and friend.