Day of "Relaxation"

It was just one of those days where I wished I had paid more attention in 2nd grade math during the chapter on reading digital clocks, that I had a better handle on stress management and that I knew a bit more of the local language.

Overwhelmed by a restless night of sleep on my typically designated "day to sleep in" I was up early and categorizing my items to being shipping off to Indonesia. Around 3pm, I sprang up rushed to get clothes and ran down the hill determined i was going to be late for Church. I flagged down a cab, uttered the words, "Onnuri gyohoe, Seobingo-Dong ca chu sayeo." in my broken Korean. He nodded drove me to the correct destination. I reach in my wallet, grab a 10,000 won to pay my 5,200won fare. The man grunts and turns his head away. I kindly extend my arm once again only to abruptly be met with a string of Korean phrases from which I understood very little other than the occasional, "no!" I'm a fast learner and catch on quickly that he must not be able to take this form of payment. I try to give my T-Money pass, but the amount I had charged on the card was not enough to cover the cost of the taxi journey. The driver pulls up to the curb and gestures at a local vendor, "changie" is all he said. I get out and head to the man behind the sidewalk cart. The driver rolls down the window, shouts in Korean and is met with rejection from the local food vendor. Here I am the clueless white girl who is now standing on the crowded sidwalk between an ornery driver and a street vendor refusing to give change. Enter the kind old Korean lady sitting on a little stool. She offers to help me and from her jacket pocket produces the change. I head back to the cab and offer him the remaining amount. More Korean phrases being thrown around, he spits loudly out his window, then gestures to meter. I am now perhapes even more perplexed and thus surrender to my attempt to master his charades and extend all the money and tell him to take the amount he needs. He continues to speak to me as if I understand, removes 5,200 from the my grasp and then, *miracle of miracles*, he failtnly smiled!

After a 20 minute debachle over payment methods, I finally entered the church building. I ran up the three flights- halted in my tracks by my surroundings. There was a red rope on the stairs restricting access to the sanctuary. The sermon was being given in only Korean and as I peered around, I only saw the faces of strangers. I quickly text my friends asking them if the service was re-located. As the first text was returned, I happened to notice the time indicated -3:23pm....It took a moment for the concept to sink in.....I was almost 1 hour early for the English Service! In my haste, I had mis-read the time on the clock. And, as a result, I made my life far more complicated than a Sunday afternoon "the day of relaxation" is ever meant to be!

사랑해요

Valentine's Day. Oh, the pressure. The frustration. The expectations. Some don't have a valentine, some who do are on edge all day trying to make it "perfect" according the media's standards. What fun is that?

Let's break the mold. A love list, if you will. Join me?

I LOVE that I get to wake up every day and come to a job that pursues truth and excellence beyond academics.
I LOVE that my co-workers placed roses in my box, and prepared a special dinner for the "singles"
I LOVE that I can always blame my silly imperfections on "teaching special ed"
I LOVE that I finally have a valentine, even an ocean away!
I LOVE that have so many of my friends and family.
I LOVE color!
I LOVE pictures that capture memories that I get to relive when I see them.
I LOVE the invention of SKYPE (when it doesn't cut-out)
I LOVE bubble baths in hot water!
I LOVE that He knows exactly what we need before we ask.
I LOVE that I have had mentors and people who continually speak truth and encourage me in my life!
I LOVE finally being able to know where to get the things I need in a foreign country!
I LOVE traveling!
I LOVE that the street I live on is safe, and our neighbors are friendly.
I LOVE laughing so hard you cry!
I LOVE unexpected compliments.
I LOVE that my church is led by a Pastor who challenges us, "life begins at the end of your comfort zone!"
I LOVE nights with friends where you can just be yourself.
I LOVE the beauty that is all around us.

I LOVE that there is a Greater Love that we can all be a part of.

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son, that whoever believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. - John 3:16

STAND

There is going to be a moment where it all seems to much.
It is.
There is going to be a moment where you want to throw your hands up and walk away.
You can.
There is going to be a moment where you want to spit in the face of love.
You might.
There is going to come a moment where you want to cower in the face of fear.
You may.
There is going to come a moment where it will seemingly crush every ounce of your spirit.
It will.
There is going to come a moment when you realize you have been completely fooled.
You were.

And let me tell you something.
No one can get up from being hit, until they have been hit.
Resolve doesn’t come from an easy life.
It comes from those moments above.
And I’m here to tell you, those moments I listed above…
As true as they will be in the moment…
They will pale to the moment you realize that you did not cower, run, or hide.
They will pale to the moment you realize that there is more inside of you that you ever dreamed.

They will pale to the moment, you stand.
"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." EPH 6:13

The Delight of Sacrifice

My dear friend, and roommate from my 1st year in Korea, is also making the transition away from what has become comfortable. With the determination to serve wherever necessary, she is drawn to areas in Mexico where women are prostituted. Fortunately, she speaks Spanish fluently and has family routes to the country, but nonetheless, she is embarking on a period of uncertainty in her life and I have often looked up to her strength and vision of God's purpose.

My Dear Friends Audie, Sandie & April

Recently she photocopied for me an excerpt from her devotional book by Oswald Chambers. Below I have included some sentences that leave me never the same:

"We have no right in Christian service to be guided by our own interests and desires. In fact, this is one of the greatest tests of our relationship with Christ. I don't throw my life away, but I willingly and deliberately lay it down for Him and His interests in other people. And I do this for no cause or purpose of my own. But, if we are totally surrendered to Him, we have no goals of our own to serve."

"I will very gladly spend and be spent for your souls...." 2 Corinthians 12:15

Will you?

Holiday Hope

As the holidays are fast approaching, are you wondering what you can do to make a difference? This year, I had my class write cards and help me pack a special box to encourage a family whom I met through the blogging world! Today, I went around town to ALPHA, DAISO and KIM'S CLUB packing up a Christmas box for a missionary family in Thailand.

If the sound of going out to the store and buying little gifts, shuffling to the post office, paying absorbent amounts in postage and wondering if the package will ever arrive on time? Then, from the comfort of your own computer... come meet Xander and enter to win a Canon T3 DSLR or Kindle Touch!

I love how they are using social media to impact the lives of oprhans across the globe!