I did not think I would be posting a blog so soon after the last one. I don't even know if anyone reads these things, but at least it's a good outlet for me.
Last semester I started to teach my kids about the Armor of God.
Ephesians 6:10-18 (New International Version, ©2010)
The Armor of God
10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
18 And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.
I'm using a somewhat simpler version of these verses with the kids. I am also using this website which kind of simplifies it down. I like the graphics or drawings on it. The Armor of God
Anyhow. Because of time we stopped right before the shoes of the Gospel of Peace. We had a month off and when I came back I did some review. Then today we started covering the shoes of the Gospel of Peace. What it meant to me is that we have to go and tell others about Jesus. I suppose it also means that because we have this Good News, we have peace and we can spread it about. But what I emphasized with the kids is that we need to spread the Good News. I had the kids look up Matthew 28:16-20, Isaiah 52:7, and Romans 10:15. This passage and the verses emphasize how we should go out and spread the Good News. After school I logged onto Facebook and I saw this verse posted:
How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion, “Your God reigns!” (Isaiah 52:7)
I was pretty touched by that considering that we had just read that this morning.
Then, I saw another verse that really spoke to me. This morning before school I asked God to help me focus on the important stuff and stay off of Facebook. After school I was doing some grading and it was kind of difficult. Not to mention, it had been a long day in general. I was feeling stressed and frustrated. I prayed and asked God for help. I wanted to walk down to the grocery store and buy kimbap, which is rice wrapped in seaweed. This would be bad because I shouldn't spend money and the rice is a lot of carbs I don't need. Anyhow, so I prayed. Then I got on Facebook and saw this verse:
Philippians 3:13-14
13 Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. (NIV)
So then this made me think, "ok. get off of facebook and get back to schoolwork." which I immediately did. So tonight has been a productive night.
On top of teaching my kids about the Armor of God, I started teaching them about 1 Corinthians 13. If you don't know, this chapter is all about love. We had been having some trouble in our class with kids not treating each other well. I started teaching the first verse this week.
Then tonight my room mate, Shin Ae, heard me yell out some strange words. I was looking up songs to have my kids sing tomorrow. I was listening to God is Not a Secret by Newsboys. They sing about how the very rocks will cry out if we do not praise the Name of the Lord. So I got on Biblegateway.com to look up the verse.
I got on and what should I see on their daily verse, but this:
“If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.” - 1 Corinthians 13:1-3
I cried out. I almost cried. God is so good. I am always touched when He talks to me. Why should He talk to me? Who am I? I am nothing and unworthy. But He doesn't think so. He loves me so much. He loves my kids so much. He loves you so much.
Thanks for taking the time to read this. I hope you will share in my excitement with me and be blessed. <3
Thursday, February 10, 2011
Sunday, February 06, 2011
Sleeplessness...
Here it is 12:43 am, and I can't sleep. It's probably all the coffee I had today. Oh well, what can I do? Blog, I guess...
A while back, maybe like a week, I looked at my blog and found out that I hadn't actually blogged anything since the end of September. This greatly surprised me, as I had been reassuring myself that I had, in fact, done much more. Once I found out what I had really done, I realized I needed to fix the problem.
So, then I posted a couple of videos... created by other people. These videos do chronicle a little bit of my journey here, but it took no effort on my part to put them on Blogger. So, I'm feeling a bit guilty. Maybe my guilt is keeping me up, but probably not.
So here is an attempt at a "real" blog update.
When I returned back to Korea, I was aware of how much I had missed it. Back in El Paso, I was somewhat disconnected from this place. I felt like my past time in Korea had been part of some alternative universe, or more realistically, part of my way distant past. But it wasn't that at all. What I began to realize, with a little help from my friends, is that I had become so absorbed in my life in El Paso, that I was beginning to lose myself. I was losing my true identity. I was submerging myself into a life that I did not belong in. What's so crazy is that while I was submerging myself into that life, I was at the same time completely bored and frustrated with that life!
Now I don't mean to step on any toes. I love my El Paso family. ALL of you. But here's the thing. The person God has made me to be for this time doesn't know how to fit into the El Paso life without returning to things that are a part of my old nature.
God brought me through a major change. He took things away from me that I had been trying so hard to get rid of myself. This was major, but it only happened as recently as April. I went through this change and dealt with it for a little while in El Paso. One could argue that if I was ok at least for a few months then, why couldn't I be ok for a month now?
From my change in April to my departure in August, I was pretty much consumed with my leaving to Korea. There was the application to ACA, the waiting, the celebration, the planning, and then the packing! Don't even get me started on the packing. Anyhow, after all that was saying goodbye to everyone. I didn't have time to worry about how to deal with the change.
However, when I got back to El Paso in December, I had nothing but time. Now, I am absolutely positive that I could have used that time way more wisely. But I just shut down. First of all, I didn't really want to be in El Paso at that time. Sure, it was great to see everyone, but... well I don't know if I can really explain it. Second, I went from focus and extreme busyness everyday, to not doing a darn thing! I was itching for things to do, but I did some of the wrong things.
So now that I've left my Egypt, and come back to my Israel, my soul is more at peace. Do I still have trouble being consistent in my seeking the Lord and staying focused on my work? Yes. But I desire nothing more than to be here with a purpose, a passion, a focus. I have that. I need to learn how to find that in other places, but having it here, I am complete.
I don't know what will happen once I go back to El Paso in July, but I'm not going to worry about that now. I will take time to pray about it, but for right now I am content with where God has me.
Well, now that all that is out of the way ;)
We came back and got right back into the groove of things. It's amazing how much I missed having Korean food all the time. I love this stuff!
I've also started to work out. Right now I'm doing Tae bo and a workout by The Biggest Loser which kicks my behind! Please pray that I can stay committed to this and be healthy. That is one of my biggest concerns. I know that as I get older, it will get harder and harder to shed the pounds. I really am concerned about this and I no longer want to be a slave to my body. I hope that when I read this again in six months I can say I did it, and I won't be hanging my head in shame!
School started on February 1st. Then we had a five day weekend thanks to Lunar New Year. In a way it was great because we three girls spent some time in Seoul. But on the other hand, I miss the kiddos. Not only that, I was ready to get them back into the routine and the swing of things. Well I guess I'll be able to do that in just a few short hours!
So we went to Seoul. We decided we didn't want to have to spend numerous hours on the subway. This led to us staying at the Koreana Hotel. It was pretty nice. On Friday we explored a bit and had lunch and coffee. We were able to relax. That night we went to Seoul Art Museum and saw an awesome exhibit! The only artist's name that I can remember was Picasso. There were many other talented artists whose work was on display, but I'm not informed enough to remember their names. Sorry!
While I really enjoyed the entire experience, there is one occasion that stands out in my mind more than all the rest. I was looking at Picasso's David and Bathsheba. It's a really interesting painting. But I realized as I was looking at it and searching it and really trying to figure it out, that I had blocked out all the other people around me. Being that Korea just had a national holiday, the place was packed. But I was standing there and I heard nothing and saw nothing. I saw only that painting. Now, no offense to Picasso, but the painting is not that beautiful. However, it got me thinking and that is pretty awesome.
So the next day we went to Seoul tower and walked and walked and walked and walked some more! It was awesome to see the view and to think about how communication took place back then. It was also awesome to look down from the top of that mountain and think about what it would look like before there was a megacity down there.
Then we went to Myeongdong and did a bit of shopping. We got to meet our friend Jay there. Prior to seeing him we climbed a ton of stairs and did a lot of walking. I was looking forward to sitting for a long time! We ended the night with a good dinner and some great company. I think I can confidently say that a good time was had by all. :)
Now it's time to get back to work! :D
I think this blog will hold me for a while, at least until the next big thing happens!
A while back, maybe like a week, I looked at my blog and found out that I hadn't actually blogged anything since the end of September. This greatly surprised me, as I had been reassuring myself that I had, in fact, done much more. Once I found out what I had really done, I realized I needed to fix the problem.
So, then I posted a couple of videos... created by other people. These videos do chronicle a little bit of my journey here, but it took no effort on my part to put them on Blogger. So, I'm feeling a bit guilty. Maybe my guilt is keeping me up, but probably not.
So here is an attempt at a "real" blog update.
When I returned back to Korea, I was aware of how much I had missed it. Back in El Paso, I was somewhat disconnected from this place. I felt like my past time in Korea had been part of some alternative universe, or more realistically, part of my way distant past. But it wasn't that at all. What I began to realize, with a little help from my friends, is that I had become so absorbed in my life in El Paso, that I was beginning to lose myself. I was losing my true identity. I was submerging myself into a life that I did not belong in. What's so crazy is that while I was submerging myself into that life, I was at the same time completely bored and frustrated with that life!
Now I don't mean to step on any toes. I love my El Paso family. ALL of you. But here's the thing. The person God has made me to be for this time doesn't know how to fit into the El Paso life without returning to things that are a part of my old nature.
God brought me through a major change. He took things away from me that I had been trying so hard to get rid of myself. This was major, but it only happened as recently as April. I went through this change and dealt with it for a little while in El Paso. One could argue that if I was ok at least for a few months then, why couldn't I be ok for a month now?
From my change in April to my departure in August, I was pretty much consumed with my leaving to Korea. There was the application to ACA, the waiting, the celebration, the planning, and then the packing! Don't even get me started on the packing. Anyhow, after all that was saying goodbye to everyone. I didn't have time to worry about how to deal with the change.
However, when I got back to El Paso in December, I had nothing but time. Now, I am absolutely positive that I could have used that time way more wisely. But I just shut down. First of all, I didn't really want to be in El Paso at that time. Sure, it was great to see everyone, but... well I don't know if I can really explain it. Second, I went from focus and extreme busyness everyday, to not doing a darn thing! I was itching for things to do, but I did some of the wrong things.
So now that I've left my Egypt, and come back to my Israel, my soul is more at peace. Do I still have trouble being consistent in my seeking the Lord and staying focused on my work? Yes. But I desire nothing more than to be here with a purpose, a passion, a focus. I have that. I need to learn how to find that in other places, but having it here, I am complete.
I don't know what will happen once I go back to El Paso in July, but I'm not going to worry about that now. I will take time to pray about it, but for right now I am content with where God has me.
Well, now that all that is out of the way ;)
We came back and got right back into the groove of things. It's amazing how much I missed having Korean food all the time. I love this stuff!
I've also started to work out. Right now I'm doing Tae bo and a workout by The Biggest Loser which kicks my behind! Please pray that I can stay committed to this and be healthy. That is one of my biggest concerns. I know that as I get older, it will get harder and harder to shed the pounds. I really am concerned about this and I no longer want to be a slave to my body. I hope that when I read this again in six months I can say I did it, and I won't be hanging my head in shame!
School started on February 1st. Then we had a five day weekend thanks to Lunar New Year. In a way it was great because we three girls spent some time in Seoul. But on the other hand, I miss the kiddos. Not only that, I was ready to get them back into the routine and the swing of things. Well I guess I'll be able to do that in just a few short hours!
So we went to Seoul. We decided we didn't want to have to spend numerous hours on the subway. This led to us staying at the Koreana Hotel. It was pretty nice. On Friday we explored a bit and had lunch and coffee. We were able to relax. That night we went to Seoul Art Museum and saw an awesome exhibit! The only artist's name that I can remember was Picasso. There were many other talented artists whose work was on display, but I'm not informed enough to remember their names. Sorry!
While I really enjoyed the entire experience, there is one occasion that stands out in my mind more than all the rest. I was looking at Picasso's David and Bathsheba. It's a really interesting painting. But I realized as I was looking at it and searching it and really trying to figure it out, that I had blocked out all the other people around me. Being that Korea just had a national holiday, the place was packed. But I was standing there and I heard nothing and saw nothing. I saw only that painting. Now, no offense to Picasso, but the painting is not that beautiful. However, it got me thinking and that is pretty awesome.
So the next day we went to Seoul tower and walked and walked and walked and walked some more! It was awesome to see the view and to think about how communication took place back then. It was also awesome to look down from the top of that mountain and think about what it would look like before there was a megacity down there.
Then we went to Myeongdong and did a bit of shopping. We got to meet our friend Jay there. Prior to seeing him we climbed a ton of stairs and did a lot of walking. I was looking forward to sitting for a long time! We ended the night with a good dinner and some great company. I think I can confidently say that a good time was had by all. :)
Now it's time to get back to work! :D
I think this blog will hold me for a while, at least until the next big thing happens!
Saturday, February 05, 2011
Thursday, February 03, 2011
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