The G-word

And the L-word.  And B-word.  And the T-word.

I think it's odd the LGBT culture incites such explosions within the Church, that homosexuality and everything else we associate with it is one of the leading hot topics in Christianity.  To be honest, I'm actually blown away by the number of things that we could substitute for that cleanly that would not affect the point of what I'm about to say.

The topic of homosexuality reportedly only crossed Jesus' lips a debatable one or two times.  Now, I know this is the start of an argument with which you're probably familiar, but I'm not going down that road.  What I mean to say is this:

I'm not saying Jesus does or doesn't approve of LGBT people.  I'm saying that Jesus had other things He wanted us to deal with before we ever began that debate.

When you think about how many times Jesus mentions orphans or children, how many times He mentions feeding the hungry, how many times He mentions caring for widows and the elderly, how many times He mentions lust, how many times He mentions selflessness... Suddenly, we realize that there is an entirely different picture in play.

Have you ever noticed how our favorite pass times involve pointing out what we deem to be flaws in others?  It's a lot easier than turning inward and working on ourselves.  In fact, in my own way, I'm doing it right now.  We love to say our piece.  We hate it when that piece is aimed at us.  But that doesn't mean it's right.

1 Corinthians 12:12-26 : Unity and Diversity in the Body

12 Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ. 13 For we were all baptized by[c] one Spirit so as to form one body—whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. 14 Even so the body is not made up of one part but of many.
15 Now if the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. 16 And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. 17 If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be?18 But in fact God has placed the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. 19 If they were all one part, where would the body be? 20 As it is, there are many parts, but one body.
21 The eye cannot say to the hand, “I don’t need you!” And the head cannot say to the feet, “I don’t need you!” 22 On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, 23 and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with special honor. And the parts that are unpresentable are treated with special modesty, 24 while our presentable parts need no special treatment. But God has put the body together, giving greater honor to the parts that lacked it, 25 so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other.26 If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.

Now, imagine this:
Picture a Church where each member of the body delved into the scriptures, focusing solely on the message G-d had for him or her that day, and, rather than going and talking about the amazing "word G-d had given" that day, put it into practice and let the word speak for itself.  Can you imagine how this Church would change the world?  Can you imagine how the Church would unite?

I think we're missing a critical part of G-d by being so focused on slashing fallacies out of our brothers and sisters.  Very few are called to be surgeons, and those who are never approach a person with a sword to do their work.  The rest of us are called to wait anxiously in the waiting room, praying and pacing, hoping and supporting each other in body, the patient in spirit.  Before we open our mouths, perhaps we should ask ourselves: What role have I been called to play?  What role am I trying to play with my words?

I see no record of Christ calling us to focus more on what other people are doing wrong than what we are doing wrong.  We're called to be constantly improving ourselves, constantly growing closer to Him, constantly focusing on Him.  If we start nit picking at someone else's life, we divert our attention; we're no longer gazing solely at G-d, we're staring intensely at another person.  How much do we sabotage ourselves in the name of "helping" others?

I would be thrilled if we could set aside this debate in favor of something more productive.  Let's focus on doing the things that Christ made painstakingly clear.  Let's make sure that we ourselves are aligned with Him, before we start trying to mold others into our own images.  Yes, we are called to make disciples, but we are called to make HIS disciples, not our own.  This means that there are going to be times when the people we helped to bring to Christ are going to act in ways that would be different than our inclinations.  We can point this out to them, lovingly, but, in the end, the most we can do for them is point them back to G-d and pray.  The key here is that it all hinges on relationships.  A stranger cannot permeate your  beliefs and opinions, cannot change your actions.  Only a personal, loving relationship can introduce someone to a personal, loving relationship with G-d, which will then induce change.  So, if you truly wanted someone to change and weren't just in it for the sport of bullying people, wouldn't you make a point of seeking out the people with whom you disagreed and attempting to build a relationship with them?  I know Christ did...

Just some thoughts that have been bothering me lately.

Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye. -Matthew 7:3-5

"Let there be no division among you..."

Today I was overwhelmed by a desire for unity within the Church.  I feel it's Christ's desire more than my own.  I think it pains Him to hear us discount various denominations, to ignore them in our counts of "churches" from our missionary work, to follow the teachings of one train of thought unquestioningly, to fear each other for are differing beliefs.

Personally, I wish we could disband them entirely.

Today's post won't be long; I think that expresses my thoughts well enough on the topic.

The Demon-Possessed Man: Part 4 - Impure

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For Jesus had commanded the impure spirit to come out of the man. Many times it had seized him, and though he was chained hand and foot and kept under guard, he had broken his chains... - Luke 8:29

It's interesting to me that most Bibles translate this word as "impure."  I'm not going to go off and do a word study here.  Don't worry.  I've never looked at this passage in Greek, and, therefore, have never even begun to analyze if that's a good translation of the word or not.  But I do know that impure/unclean is the vast preference of translation, leaving only three that I found with "evil" as the translation, one "vile" and one "foul" (the latter two, I found later to be closer synonyms to impure than evil).  I think it warrants a pause there that most people agree that Luke did not refer to Legion as evil, but rather impure.  It makes a big difference.

I think we can all agree on things that come from evil.

The employ of child soldiers comes from evil.

School shootings come from evil.

Death camps come from evil.

Serial killings come from evil.

Genocide comes from evil.

Slander comes from evil.

Torture comes from evil.

Abuse comes from evil.

Rape comes from evil.

These are all decently straight forward.  I've left some off the list on account of thinking they may be more accurately traced to selfishness or fear... which is another post for another day.  I think we all have taken time to wonder if the people who committed such atrocities were demon-possessed.  But Luke seems to hint here that "evil" isn't the usual M.O. of demons.  (After all, Legion is called Legion on the claim that it is not just one demon but many.)  Rather, Luke appears to be indicating that the impure is a more accurate indicator of possession.

What if I were to make a list of things rooted in impurity?

Just for kicks, I went to my favorite thesaurus and looked up the word "impure."  This is what I found:

admixed, adulterated, alloyed, carnal, coarse,common, contaminated, corrupt, debased, defiled,desecrated, diluted, dirty, doctored, filthy, foul,gross*, grubby, immodest, immoral, indecent,infected, lewd, nasty, not pure, obscene, polluted,profaned, smutty, squalid, sullied, tainted,unchaste, unclean, unrefined, unwholesome, vile,vitiated, weighted, wicked

I've highlighted a couple of those in bold, hoping to attract your attention with them, whereas I want to focus in on two of those words myself.  If Luke is suggesting that it is demonic influence that brings about the impure, then it would indicate that he is suggesting in turn that that which is common, that which is diluted (read: watered-down) is based upon the demonic.  As followers of G-d, we are called to be set apart from the world, to be uncommon, to be concentrated in Him.

As I type this, I can't help but think about the orange juice my mom used to keep in the fridge at all times when I was little.  She's one of the few people I know that would make juice from concentrate; perhaps that's why that word always triggers the image of orange juice for me.  I remember one time, I was convinced I had found my way around the system of healthy eating:  I would get to the juice before she added water to it.  That was sure to make it taste better. (Honestly, I didn't think it tasted all that bad to begin with, but I thought I liked sweet things back then.)  So I got the can from the freezer, let it thaw, and tried to drink it.  Oh, I was definitely in for a surprise on that one.  I could barely keep it in my mouth.  The flavor was too much.  I couldn't handle it.

These days, our society encourages us to conform, to act in ways that make the people around us more comfortable.  (Seriously, just try going out for breakfast with your friends and telling them that you don't want to eat bacon for religious reasons.)  They don't mind us following G-d, they may even like that we do, but they do mind when we "take it too far," or become "a little much."  Faith is fine, just as long as it's mixed with the amount of water recommended on the nice, neat, little package they've wrapped around us.  If I'm right, Luke is telling us that to give into this encouragement is to give into the suggestion of demons.  We are supposed to be making people uncomfortable.  We're supposed to be making them think.  We're supposed to be using our every move as a witness.  We're supposed to be presented still-concentrated.  (And we're supposed to be spit out. "You will be hated by everyone because of me, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved." -Matthew 10:22)

For many of us, this becomes a burden that we are unwilling to bear.  I suppose if juice concentrates could talk, they might tell us they feel similarly.  They might call from the freezer, "HEY!  YOU!  Get that pitcher out; turn on that water!  Drink me!  I want to be a part of you, of your life!  I want you to love me!"  Or... Maybe we just call that out every day by our actions.  We want to be liked.  We want everyone to love us, and, as a result, we feel the calling to be uncommon as chains holding us back from the world that rejects all things different.  We fail to see that these "chains" are nothing more than the demarcation between G-d and the world.  We see them as chains, when, in reality, they are the hands of Christ.

I'm not the only one who feels this way, so I feel confident that I'm not writing from way off in left field (Which reminds me: Baseball Season is back!  Can I get a "Hallelujah!"?!).  C.S. Lewis was writing about this idea back before my grandparents even knew each other.  In fact, he spent the entirety of The Screwtape Letters one this subject.  Let me share one of the more quoted passages from the book, because I feel that Lewis can make my point far more eloquently than I'd ever be able to.  (In case you've never read the books, they're written from the perspective of an old demon (Screwtape) writing to his young nephew (Wormwood) on how to better further the cause of their "father below.")  It's brilliantly written:

Then Sunday morning came. The Enemy reappeared. Suddenly, he was alive. Death could not hold him. But it was even worse than that. He had become an innocent sacrifice for the sins of all those humans. He had paid their penalty. He had died in their place. Now death could not hold them either. They could be forgiven and reunited with the Enemy. They can now live forever. For all practical purposes, death has died. There has never been a more disastrous day in the history of the universe.

That, my dear Wormwood, is the whole sad truth.

There is only one thing we can do. We must redouble our efforts. We must do everything we can to make sure that these humans do not believe in Jesus. And if they do believe then make them lukewarm and too busy with other things to be of any use to him. 

We have some reason to hope. Much of the media help us. And there is such a climate of pleasure-seeking and materialism that often the Christians aren't any different from anybody else. Many Christians are uncommitted. Some are hypocrites. And we have got many sincere people convinced they are so guilty that they have no hope. Others are bitter and have closed their ears to the message of the Resurrection. Others are just self-satisfied and only care about now.

This was Lewis' message in 1942.  Can you believe that it's possible for a message from then to apply so directly, word-for-word to today's people?  What's more, John writes the same thing in Revelation 3:14-22 (ESV) 2,000 years before Lewis:

And to the angel of the church in Laodicea write: "The words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of God's creation. 

“I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot! So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth. For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing, not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor,blind, and naked. I counsel you to buy from me gold refined by fire {I talk about this halfway through this post}, so that you may be rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself and the shame of your nakedness may not be seen, and salve to anoint your eyes, so that you may see. Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline, so be zealous and repent. Behold, I stand at the door and knock.If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me. The one who conquers, I will grant him to sit with me on my throne, as I also conquered and sat down with my Father on his throne. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”

It is painstakingly obvious to me that we are called to a life outside of the comfort zone - both our own and that of those around us.

Do NOT misinterpret me, though.  There is a fine line to living outside of your comfort zone and alienating people from Christ.  Be passionate and undiluted, but do so with respect and love for your fellow creations of G-d.  (Note: Showing respect does not mean that you don't offend the people around you.  Christ offended people frequently - Check out Matthew 15 for starters on this - but He still had perfect Love.  Find a balance.)

I feel I could probably write more and more on this, but we'd probably start going in circles at this point, so I'm going to leave you here.  Hopefully I'll get back to you soon with more.

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Today's Holocaust

I remember the first time the idea of the Holocaust really hit home to me.  I was in elementary school.  I don't remember how the topic came up, to be honest, but I remember the question I asked: "Mom, how could people have let this happen?"

My mom, trying to be diplomatic, paused before giving her answer.  "Maybe they didn't know."

I thought about that.  I could understand how people in the United States wouldn't have known about the concentration camps, but something didn't sit right with me.  "But... What about the people who lived there?  There were people who lived in the area of the concentration camps.  People had to notice the other people in their towns being taken away."

I could tell my mom was uncomfortable, and of course she was.  There's no good answer to the question I was asking, much less one you want to admit to an elementary schooler.  "Well, some people did try to help," she said.

"Then how could this have happened?  How could people let this happen?"

Even then, I was asking the question that has plagued me my whole life.


As a child, I was able to excuse many people's ignorance of the occurrences of the Holocaust due to proximity.  In a pre-television world, ignorance was a standard of life, but today, in our world where we can watch videos that have been emailed to us from anywhere in the world on our watches, ignorance just doesn't have the ring of viability that it used to have.

So what if I told you that an estimated 200,000 people are currently being held in prison camps that are comprable to those run by the Nazi party?

Would you believe it?  Would you ignore it?

Sadly, most of the world is currently choosing to ignore that statement.  (Heck, a chunk of the world is still choosing to ignore the Holocaust.)  But I'm writing to you with a heavy heart, today, because I can no longer hope that this is just a rumor, a falsehood spread by propagandists, trying to sway our opinions.  Very early this morning, I was shown definitive proof that North Korea is operating the prison camps that refugees have claimed to escape (assuming, of course, that you don't consider refugee testimony to be definitive proof).

What you probably don't know is that right now, as you're reading this, a man named Joshua is carefully monitoring satellite feeds, focused on North Korea, and he's releasing all of his findings to the public by way of his blog, the most horrifically fascinating part of which is the section that gives detailed descriptions of and instructions on how to use Google Earth to see these prison camps.  Entranced, I spent the next two hours, pouring across the mountains of North Korea, searching for the camps he described.  Sure enough, they're there.

Joshua has a section devoted to each camp in North Korea, even spending countless hours scouring satellite feeds and Google Earth to find ones that had yet to be located but came up in refugees stories.  He reports all information he has to the Internet at large here.  I'd encourage you to take the 5 minutes it requires to download the Google Earth plugin for Google Maps, or to even download the program onto your computer.  Then, start finding them yourself, noting that some of the areas have changed slightly since he first uploaded his photos (he's since upgraded his technology which will not allow him to upload photos).  For example, Joshua features this photo of camp 18:

Whereas, today, I searched for it and found this:

As you can see from the washed out bridge and entry area, it looks like they've had some recent flooding, but they are clearly the same place.


Now, to the untrained eye, I can understand how this may look like any other North Korean city, but there's a tell: All North Korean prison camps are guarded by towers and lined by electric fences. So, the "gimme" that you're looking for is a seemingly dirt-road around the "city," interspersed with "houses," like here, at the northwestern border of camp 18:

This is real.  This is happening, and it has been happening for years.  Already, our children are going to ask us the same questions that I asked my mother.  I, for one, do not want to have to tell them that I stood by and did nothing.

This is a video of an address given by Adrian Hong, co-founder of NGO Liberty in North Korea (LiNK), to C-SPAN on the reality of what is happening in North Korea.  For the record, I understand that he and I ended up using a lot of similar terminology   Let me assure you, I watched this video after I wrote my blog post, so, any repeat of information is not evidence so much of plagiarism  so much as it evidence of truth.

Honoring G-d with Our Thoughts

First of all, I want to thank all of you who have stuck with me, in spite of my sabbatical.  I just checked my December stats, and it is, surprisingly, not that much lower than usual.  You all touch my heart.

Now, on to the main event.

I want to talk to you about something that's been on my heart for about the past 6 months.  I mean, truthfully, it's something I've thought about a lot longer than that, but it's progressed to something that's been stressing me out lately.

I want to talk to you about Modesty and Respect.  This is such a big topic, and I'm overwhelmed at where to start.  So I'm just going to go, and I hope you will stick with me.  I'm not usually known for being succinct when I'm passionate, so I'll try to bold and enlarge the highlights for you skimmers out there.  Furthermore, if you want to read the posts that finally spurred me to write this, you can look here and here.  (Warning, they're also not short.)

Modesty has nothing to do with guilt. This was a big lesson for me to learn.  I may not have been the most Amish of dressers growing up, and I still am not, nor do I think I ever will be, but that is nothing for me to feel guilty about.  I didn't always believe that, though.  I bought into the lie that we tell our girls: "It's your responsibility to keep your brothers from sinning by dressing appropriately."  I'm sorry...What?  I want you to read that over again a couple of times, because, on first pass, it may be hard to catch what's wrong with this statement.  So read it again.  The more I read it, the more sad I become, because we've been deceived.  It is not our responsibility to prevent anyone from sinning.  I want you to read that very carefully.  Put frankly, it's idolatry to think that you can stop anyone from sinning.  There's only One person that can step in, change us, and turn us away from our sins, and that's G-d.  The issue of lust is a much deeper issue that goes beyond what any person is wearing.  I'm sure you've heard people talking about leaving room for the imagination in your dressing, while talking about how much they love sundress season a couple weeks later.  People who are going to lust are going to lust.  What a person wears isn't going to change that.  So let's stop pointing the finger at the dresser and start praying for healing for our brothers and sisters.

Which brings me to my next point.  Lust is not just something men do.  It feels like everywhere I turn, I see women gushing over pictures of topless men, or even men wearing less clothes than that, and, in some bizarre turn of events, this has been deemed "okay."  I can't help but be disgusted and deeply saddened by this practice.  If men were constantly posting pictures of topless or underwear-clad women on their Facebooks and commenting on how sexy they found them, the female community would be outraged.  We'd crucify them.  So I don't understand.  What's the difference?  But don't get me wrong, I'm not saying I'm immune.  If this is thrown at a person constantly, it's nearly impossible to stay above it, whether they are male or female.  I get that it's hard not to lust; believe me, I do.  If a man has strong hands or has paid attention to his upper arms in his workout routine, I'm having to work my hardest to keep my thoughts pure.

So what can I do?  Do I ask him, "Excuse me, sir, but would you mind wearing gloves?  Your hands are really distracting me from G-d right now."  No.  Of course not.  First of all, that's pointless.  Him covering his hands is not going to change the fact that my mind has headed down that path.  Him changing is not going to cure my indiscretion.  The only way I can stop my sin is by working with G-d to change me.

But that doesn't mean that we need to ignore the clothes issue entirely.  What it does mean is that we need to be dressing to honor G-d with our bodies.  G-d is judging us by our hearts, so I think that it is important to know your heart, even as you are picking out your outfit in the morning.  Why are you wearing what you are?  Are you thinking, "Oh, I'm going to turn on all the guys by wearing this outfit"? I think we can all agree that that is not honoring G-d.  You're dressing for men and your sexuality, making them the center of your thoughts as you're dressing.  I'd dare to take this as far as questioning if I dressed with the right thought life this morning when I dressed with one thought: "What is going to keep me warm?"

The most important part is that you're honoring G-d.  Honor G-d with your body.  Honor G-d with your thoughts.  Honor G-d with your actions.

I could keep going on down this rabbit trail.  I could double or triple the length of this post by bringing rape, assault, pornography and pedophilia  into the mix, but I think that at this point I've give you enough to go on to guess what I would say, so I'll leave that for another impassioned day.

The American Dream

Do you know I have no idea what the American Dream is?  I mean, I know it used to be 2.2 kids, kept safely behind a white picket fence, but I'm not sure that still holds true.  But I firmly believe everything my textbooks taught me about how so many people immigrated to the States in order to pursue said ambiguous American Dream.

That is, I believed that until today.

Today, I was perusing a textbook at school, when I got to a section about how Korea is becoming more multi-cultural.  "Soon," I read, "Korea's population will be almost 5% foreign people who are living or working in Korea."  Don't get me started on the word "foreign."  I may be the only person who feels this way, but my hackles still go up when I hear it.  (Yes, I'm foreign, but the word itself makes me feel unwelcome.  Is "international" so much harder of a word?)  Anyway, the book provided a reason for this upswing in expats and internationals who have made Korea their permanent home.  Did it have anything to do with the failing economies in the US and EU?  No.  "Foreigners come to Korea to pursue the Korean Dream."

The Korean Dream?

I did what?

I mean, I came to Korea because I didn't want to be in America anymore.  I felt sure that I had felt G-d's nudges to go... Does that mean I was pursuing the Korean Dream?  I had been set on Korea for a while before going... so, maybe?  But, at this point, I'm pretty sure I just don't want to be in America.  Am I still pursing the Korean Dream?  Was I ever?

Then I started wondering.

Do international people living in the US feel the same way when they read about the American Dream?  I mean, some of those people come from some awful places.  But maybe it wasn't America that they specifically wanted.  Maybe they just wanted out.  Maybe it had nothing more to do with America than the fact that it's easy to get into.

I've been living here a year, and I'm still learning how egotistical being in the racial majority has made me.

These are lessons that I hope to keep with me, no matter where I end up in life.  I'd recommend the experience of living as a racial minority to anyone, even though it can be absolutely gut-wrenching sometimes, but that's the reason to do it.  People can be so horrible to each other and never realize they're doing it.  In fact, I know I used to say things because I thought I was being nice, when, in reality, I was dehumanizing an entire people group.

And it's not about being color-blind, because, then, we tend to act as if everyone were like us - the same customs, habits, and the like - but, the truth is, we're not all alike.  It's about being loving and accepting, no matter what the person brings to the table.  It's not our place to judge; it's our place to love.  There's a lot more I could add to define that, but, rather, I'll just leave you with this quote, which happens to be one of my favorites and inspired an entire term paper:

[W]e must at least return to what is for Descartes the first passion: wonder.  This passion has no opposite or contradiction and exists as though for the first time.  Thus man and woman, woman and man are always meeting as though for the first time because they cannot be [exchanged] one for the other…Whatever identifications are possible, one will never exactly occupy the place of the other – they are irreducible one to the other.  -Luce Irigaray

I start middle school today.

I dream last night that I showed up to school in my PJs and forgot where my office was. Half of that is true. Ahhhh!!! I'm getting more nervous by the minute. Prayers, please.

Edit:
My dream in detail:
I woke up to go to school, and I realized that I'd left all of my stuff in my other apartment, which happened to be in my old school.  My blanket was there (so I woke up cold), my clothes were there, my school supplies were there... So I knew I needed to go get them.  I decided to swing by my new school first to tell them why I was going to be late.  So I went in my PJs (sweat pants and a sports bra), but I couldn't find my office.  I spent several hours wandering the halls in said PJs, not finding it before I woke.  There's a good first impression.

Right here for your very much wish-fulfillment.

Way back in my freshman year of college, I was in Covenant Choir, which took a trip to Orlando, Florida.  My friend Kara and I ended up being rooming partners, and we stayed with an absolutely amazing family (Andy, Lorri, Sydney, and Carter); I still think about them sometimes, actually.  We had so much fun.

For example, I think this is one of the most adorable dogs ever.

Well, the amazing family came with their crazy dog, Ziggy, who just felt too much of a need to exert his dominance.  After watching him chase Kara's legs around the house for a half hour or so, I, half jokingly, half seriously, said I wanted a similarly awkward dog when I got older.  (Actually I want a more awkward dog, because not only do I want a dog that exerts his dominance, I want him to be so ugly it's cute.  It's okay.  You can go ahead and call the people with the jackets that help you hug yourself.  I won't hold it against you.)

For some reason, I feel like the more awkward a dog is, the more endearing it is.  I can't explain it.  Maybe I shouldn't think that absolutely awkward things are cute.  Maybe that will lead to uncomfortable situations.  Or... maybe it will make for excellent stories later.  I guess it just depends on how you see the glass.

So, yes, I challenged G-d and/or life to give me a dog with a need to exert its dominance. May I just throw it out there that you shouldn't put those kind of challenges out there without expecting them to happen.

Kara and Ziggy

Tonight, I had my friends Thomas and Bethany over for a long over-due dinner/hang-out time.  The food was delicious, thanks to The Awkward Chef.  (I made her veggie burgers again, and I finally got them all to turn out correctly!  It was a momentous occasion.)  Manila was out and running around when they came in.  (To be technical, she was the only one here to greet them; I had to run to the store for a second.)  They hit it off to begin with, but Manila must have felt threatened by Thomas' masculinity, because, by halfway through the evening, she had felt the need to mark a corner as her own.

Manila, trying to figure out her species

But that wasn't enough; she had to move on to his arm, and she didn't just chin it or something.  No, she had to go and exert her dominance.  But she wasn't too good at it, though, because he couldn't figure out what was going on.  It was pretty amusing, but I put her away anyway.  Poor, over-stimulated bunny.  We'll try again anyway.

Be careful what you wish for, I guess.

In spite of the weirdness of having a rabbit that thinks she's anything but a rabbit, we had a great night (and it's been good to see her acting fully healthy again - she's even eating her pellets... occasionally).  We had veggie burgers (yum).  We had watermelon (yum yum).  We had Oreos and peanut butter (yum yum yum!).  We found the faces of Mary, Jesus, and Satan in the peanut butter.  We played Fluxx until we were laughing so hard it hurt.  I don't think anyone can deny the quality of the night, and I can't wait to have Bethany and Thomas over again.  :)


PS. Identify the quote from the title of this post.  Why?  Because life it more fun when you realize how much of what I say is actually quoting something.

Blimey Cow photo-a-day 22. Your favorite superhero (AKA Batman).
Lucky for Blimey Cow, my favorite superhero generally is Batman, although he is occasionally challenged by Wolverine.  

And you?

I'm sure you remember the riots in Cairo in the beginning of 2011.  I certainly do.  I followed that story like a hawk, keeping the TV turned to the news at all times.  I was sure someone was going to roll out the artillery and massacre them all when they were confined to the square, and I wasn't the only one who thought that.  It seemed like everyone thought that.  In spite of the great potential for death, the protestors did not set aside their religion.  In February, there is a major Muslim holiday called Milad Un Nabi (birthday Of The Prophet Muhammad), and when that holiday came 'round, plenty of people were still in midst of their protest, so the question arose - what would happen?  Would the government strike back while they were in their observant prayers?  Would the muslims succumb to fear and not observe it?  Would they disperse?

I think the solution shocked the whole world.  The Egyptian Christian community came together, a mere fortnight after a Muslim radical's suicide bombing took the lives of 23 Christians, to provide a human barrier between the Muslim worshipers and the military on the other side of them.

I found this photo attached to this article.

Today hase no significant ties to this event.  I just happened upon this photograph, which made me think about it all.  I began thinking of how many people would be against this idea - Christians protecting Muslims - but I cannot stand with anyone who says that it's wrong, because I believe that this is what we were put on this earth to do: Love your neighbor as you love yourself.  Moreover, we are called to love, unconditionally, uninhibitedly.  Don't believe me?  Let me prove it:

Find more translations here.

Please note, that in that day, Samaritans and Jews had nothing to do with each other.  The were enemies, and, yet, it was the Samaritan who was willing to protect this Jew as he returned from the very cause of their controversy (Don't know what that is?  Read up on it here).  Let me remind you of Jesus' instructions concerning the Samaritan: "Go and do likewise" (Luke 10:37).


So I ask you: Are you willing to take the plunge and protect those who may very well be seeking to destroy you?

Just a little food for thought today.

Just a little life update... for once.

I don't think I've given you an actual life update since I got to Korea... maybe some snarky pretend life updates, but I'm going to buckle down and give you an actual one.  Why?  Because my other option is lesson planning.

My trip to Thailand really opened my eyes to
how mixed  Buddhism and Hinduism have become.

We kicked off this week with Buddha's birthday.  Now, a lot of my Christian friends have been pretty fired up about this, justifying celebrations as not being about Buddha and so forth.  Here's the thing, though.  Plenty of people who couldn't care less about Christ have no problem celebrating Christmas and Easter.  Not to mention, Buddhism had absolutely nothing to do with religion until it mixed with Hinduism.  Before then, it was just a lifestyle about peace and unity with the world and yourself.  This does not in any way, shape, or form negate Christianity.  Buddhism now?  Yes, it does.  What Buddhism was meant to be? No it doesn't.  And if you really want me to ruffle your feathers, I can take that a step further and say that Christianity now negates what Christianity was meant to be, too, so there's a whole lot of negation going on here.  Like I mentioned before, I didn't spend the holiday doing much of anything special.  I took the bunny to the animal hospital, then laid around on Monday, working on some editing for my story.  Pre-bunny adventures, the bun and I attended a cookout on the roof of our apartment building, which ended with a not-so-happy manager kicking us off the roof.  The general consensus is that, yes, fireworks are legal in Korea, but perhaps we should have taken them to a beach or something.

Writing writing, writing...
Also... I'd like to paint my nails that color again.

Tuesday was the usual post-long-weekend duldrum of wanting more vacation.  I need to hurry and get this "being a writer" thing moving... I think I'd really like that, to be honest.  It wouldn't matter where I lived or what else I did, so long as I met my deadlines.  How can you help me? (Because I KNOW you all want to help me... haha.)  Tell people about the blog, and watch for my name on a fiction series a couple years from now.  When you see it, buy it.  :) hahah.

Tuesday was also a flurry of preparations for the series of Skype calls that my 6th graders are doing.  Right now, they're studying how to hold phone calls in English, so I figured that this was a wonderful way to let them practice.  I had to make sure Skype was installed on all the computers, cameras and mics were working, and my callers were up-to-date and ready to go on info.  Even though I knew things would still glitch, I wanted it to be as glitch-free as possible.  What I didn't bank on were thunderstorms on the East Coast AND in Korea (no-thunderstorm central).  I guess that's how these things work, right?

The project that started it all: my fourth graders Skyping
with Jaimi and Sam.  (No, you didn't miss it.  I've just been bad
about keeping you updated.)

Today was the big kick off of the Skype calls.  It was definitely interesting.  The 6th grade girls couldn't get over having an American young man on the screen, so I'm a little tentative about how tomorrow is going to turn out on that front.  Of course, the men tomorrow won't have blonde hair, so it'll probably be a bit easier to handle.  Either way, I'm seriously considering a women-only policy for my higher grades.  I don't think that'll cause any stirs, since the boys aren't hormonally mature enough for that issue.  All-in-all, I think the kids did okay.  They certainly had some room for improvement, but my Thursday classes tend to be better than my Wednesday classes, so we'll see how that goes.  (Hopefully, I'll remember to snag some pictures on the sly tomorrow, too.  Maybe I'll ask someone to do some screen shots on their end for me?  We'll see.)

Today, lunch was incredibly good (and even came with cheese sticks!), except for this rice ball that made me nervous.

I ate this with my lunch today.  Look carefully.  Those little black dots are eyes...
apparently of fish that look exactly like worms.   I had to close my eyes to do it,
which one of my co-teachers noticed and may or may not be offended?
I don't know.  Either way, the fish/worms show up enough at school
that I should probably learn to eat them wide-eyed.

Today, I also got done at work early.  Apparently, on any month that has a fifth Wednesday, the teachers take off early to go hiking.  I was all set to go, but it was drizzling, so they opted against it, and everyone just went home.  Wouldn't you know it?  As soon as I got dropped off, the rain stopped.  Personally, I would have enjoyed either one, but they probably made the better call.  I'm too used to non-acidic rain.  But, I'll count it as a win for the home team.  You know what else I found out?  We don't have school on Friday; it's my school's "birthday."  I'll take it.

Day 01. Selfie.  No mirrors... just a fancy iPhone4.

Finally, I have opted to start the Summer of Blimey Cow Photo Challenge.  I'll be posting my shots on here, but I would love to see yours, too if you opt to do it, so find me on Twitter, where I will also be posting my shots.  (Or you can ALWAYS post links and things in my comments!)  We'll see how long I stay dedicated to this... and/or I'll just have some days that I'm posting a bunch of catch-up pictures. It is my blog, after all, so I can really just do whatever I want.

Have a lovely week, enjoy working on Friday, and pretend like I'm not actually mean enough to have just rubbed that in your face. ;)

"...And still we open the door for him to surrender." - Ambassador Francisco Madeira

On April 13, 2012, The Deputy Speaker of the Parliament of Uganda, Jacob Oulanyah, announced that their government would be extending the Amnesty Act, in order to protect any member of the LRA who wanted to surrender.  One month later, Caesar Achellam came out of the bush.  The words of Ambassador Francisco Madeira (as quoted at the top of this article) seemd to make it clear that this Amnesty Act included everyone in the LRA, including Joseph Kony himself.  However, that is now being disputed.  Read up on that HERE, then come back to me.

Amnesty Acts are nothing new in Africa.  The most widely successful example of it is that which happened in South Africa.  As an American, I still have a hard time wrapping my mind around that idea, but I'm a lot closer to it now than I used to be.  I used to write the idea off as preposterous, something that was only working for now by some miracle of G-d, while people were biding their time to return to how they had been.  But I have changed my mind.  Christ would extend these people grace.  As a person who claims to follow His lead, I cannot do anything but the same without tarnishing my witness and His reputation.

Why?  Because it's not black and white.

"[Cesar Achellam] is wanted by the International Criminal Court for rape, mutilation and murder of civilians, as well as forcibly recruiting children to serve as soldiers and sex slaves" (BBC).  It's hard to ignore those crimes.  They're horrific.  They make me want to vomit.  They rip out my heart.

Ceasar Achellam also spent at least 20 years under Joseph Kony.  20 years.  One look at his face spells it out for you: He was captured as a child.  He grew up in a culture of rape, mutilation, murder, and slavery.  He is no more responsible for thinking those actions are a way of life than I am for thinking that waffles are a breakfast food.

Don't get me wrong.  I do think that there was a part of him that knew those actions were inexcusable, just like there's a part of me that knows that waffles are not universally a breakfast food, but I am saying that it's not something that he could have avoided (and kept his life). 

Maybe waffles isn't an appropriate example.  Let's say lying - lying is pretty acceptable in American culture, especially white lies.  Or what about gluttony?  That's entirely acceptable in American culture, but it's on the list of the Seven Deadly Sins.  Interestingly enough, murder is not.  Wrath, however, is, and it is out of wrath that we want "justice" for this man.

Wrath (Latin, ira), also known as "rage", may be described as inordinate and uncontrolled feelings of hatred and anger. Wrath, in its purest form, presents with self-destructiveness, violence, and hate that may provoke feuds that can go on for centuries. Wrath may persist long after the person who did another a grievous wrong is dead. Feelings of anger can manifest in different ways, including impatience, revenge, andvigilantism.

But let's talk about what it was that Mr. Achellam said.  Mr. Achellam went on record before the world, saying, "My coming out will have a big impact for the people still in the bush to come out and end this war soon."  If you ask me, these are not the words of a man who was acting of his own volition.  These are the words of a child, who finally found a way to return home.  Maybe I am being fooled by a man looking to save himself.  Maybe.  But I cannot in good conscious condone "justice" for this man.

While I was still a sinner, Christ died for me. How could I possibly say that this man deserves anything less?

I can't not offer my response.

In the last few hours, Jason Russell made the news again, apparently having had a mental breakdown. Please educate yourselves on the situation and stay up to date. I've been seeing a lot of frustrating comments about it on Facebook, so I would like to offer my response for anyone interested:

I'd like you to think about all of this for a second. Let's assume the worst of Jason Russell. Let's assume that he wants to make Kony famous to make a bunch of money and encourage Kony's cause. Doing something like this would turn the American public against him, just like it seems to have done for you. How would that help these assumed intentions? It can't. These actions can only hurt his cause. Therefore, we can only logically assume that they were a non-lucid (or insane) act. 

That being said, this was the official statement offered by Invisible Children:"Jason Russell was unfortunately hospitalized yesterday suffering from exhaustion, dehydration, and malnutrition. He is now receiving medical care and is focused on getting better. The past two weeks have taken a severe emotional toll on all of us, Jason especially, and that toll manifested itself in an unfortunate incident yesterday. Jason’s passion and his work have done so much to help so many, and we are devastated to see him dealing with this personal health issue. We will always love and support Jason, and we ask that you give his entire family privacy during this difficult time." 

Finally, I'd like to say that even if you feel that Jason Russell is disgusting or a pig, I don't think it's something you should be broadcasting. As followers of Christ, it's our responsibilities to be acting in a loving manner toward all people. We are all sinners, and we all have our short-comings. So, even if he was acting entirely lucidly, these comments aren't something that I think should be posted about him.

Although I will admit that I have had my own struggles with wether or not I will be buying Kony 2012 merchandise, I will not waiver on my decision to fight for the freedom of ALL people.  In this case, that means fighting for the rights of the African people whom Joseph Kony is threatening, enslaving, mutilating, and killing.

I want you to make the same choice too, but I don't want you to make it because I'm suggesting it.  I want you to educate yourselves.  Nothing is worse than a bunch of people doing something simply because they're told to.  If you do that, you're no better off than the children whom Kony has brainwashed, and then I'll need to be fighting for your freedom too.  No, go out and read the critiques and the supporting articles.  Watch the Kony 2012 film and, especially watch the original Invisible Children film.

As for me, I'll be busy praying for Russell, praying for the children in Africa (many of whom are, at this moment, waking up in houses stuffed to overflowing with young children in an attempt to protect them from Kony), and even praying for Kony himself.  I will of course, also be busily preparing for April 20.

I hope you will join me in doing all of these things, regardless of how you feel about Russell or Invisible Children, because, the fact remains that Joseph Kony is out there, terrorizing and destroying lives, and he's doing it relatively secretly.  This cannot be allowed to continue.  The world must be awakened to what is happening.  We CANNOT allow this to persist.

For a while, I thought, "There's nothing I can do.  Eventually, Kony will die, and, hopefully, the LRA will with him."  But, if we believe this, we have learned nothing from the deaths of men like Osama bin Laden and Kim Jong Il.  Kony's death will not end the LRA, nor will it protect Africa's children.  Violence cannot bring about peace, just like darkness cannot bring about light.  It can only be through the trial and jailing of Joseph Kony that we can BEGIN to restore these people to life.

I know that's quite a sentence to just leave dangling, but it's explanation is another story for another time, my friends.

Random thoughts of no specific connection point whatsoever

Isn't it funny how you can think you're being perfectly clear, but no one actually understands you?  You and pantomime, speak slowly, enunciate, try different languages, but, sometimes, you're just not going to be understood.  Life is a strange creature, my friends.  I think I'm going to see if I can dig up some notes from Freshman year for my Interpersonal Communication class (don't expect me to actually know the material, it was an 8am class), because I'm slaughtering some rule somewhere, I just haven't found it yet.

Somewhere in my building today, children were learning "Yellow Submarine,"and, just in case you've managed to avoid hearing that song all these years, I've linked it for you.  I find it interesting that while teachers in America are busily blocking all websites that lead to that song and finding a deity to pray to that their students will not learn that song, the teachers here in Korea readily teach it.  Of course, this same phenomenon also let me get away with using "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger" (the Daft Punk version of course) as a teaching tool today, so I guess I can't complain too much.

Here, watch this video of my fourth graders playing Zoo.  It's guaranteed to make you smile (because it's one minute, ten seconds of kids having unadulterated fun).

 

Oh, and shout out to whoever is reading my blog in Russia and also in Colombia.  I don't know who you are, but I'm excited to have had you check this out.  (Unless you're my friends just using Hotspot shield.  I mean, that's cool too, but not nearly as exciting.)

[Insert several unspoken prayer requests here.]

Perspective

The worship remains
Always, the word is Christ
Christ, healing all believers

Since coming to South Korea, I've been somewhat locked in an epic metaphorical soccer game (probably to the death... well... my death at least).  For those of you who haven't been keeping score, let me catch you up:

My team and I tramped onto the field, jet-lagged and motion sick, immediately after disembarking the plane.  Korea showed no mercy, scoring a point within the first few seconds, as we fell on a moving sidewalk and attempted to keep me from getting sucked under (I'm telling you, if it actually could have happened, it would have happened then, so assure your children that they are safe).  Korea 1, visitors 0.

We took the penalty kick for having grounded one of our players (me), and despite the disheartening first minute of the game, we managed to start working together as a team, scoring a return point before ever making it to Cheonan.  We bonded as a team on the van ride home, which may not sound like much, but has been such a blessing.  Korea 1, visitors 1.

A lot of blows were parried, through battles with doorless showers, overly friendly Korean children, language barriers, and more.  I'd say the number of goals we've managed to block has been pretty successful.  However, Korea scored two goals on Sunday, as we committed a huge cultural foux pas, turning down a tour of certain parts of the city.  (It could have happened to anyone, as we didn't think we were committed to it, but because the other Americans at our church had committed themselves, it, in turn, automatically committed us.)  They took the penalty and scored easily.  The affects of that goal have yet to be seen.  Another easy score was my blood sugar crash on Sunday... I skipped breakfast, since I was singing in church, and lunch ended up being mostly noodles.  They got the goal, but I scored again on the penalty kick, figuring out ways to battle the encroaching loneliness that comes with being unmarried in this particular group of teachers.  I have turned my minority to my advantage, using this time to ask my questions about marriage and really listen to what the couples have to say as answers and free advice.  BAM.  Take that.

Soooo... as it stands now, Korea has 3 points, and the visitor has 2.

My first meeting with my head teacher, Ms. 구 ("Koo")

There are a couple of things that are going to be ongoing battles point-wise, like how my relationship with my head teacher turns out (right now, it's looking promising, especially since she is very willing to call me Anne!  Of course... I had to employ my Hangul skills and tell her that my name is 앤, not 애나, but we got there.), and whether or not I can make Terry smile (it's a 50-50 shot right now).  But, here's the main thing that I've learned as the moral of this story: It's not what does or does not happen, it's how I choose to look at the situation that will make or break me here.  By viewing everything here as an opportunity to block a shot and then return fire, I somehow feel like I have more control of my emotions. I don't have to just let it be a bad day, I can revel in the fact that I'm just preventing things from bringing me down. It's an interesting thought, yes?

Oh, and as a final thought, Jenny (who is a Korean) scored a point for the visiting team by telling the restaurant we were at today that it was Lisa's birthday.  Jenny explained that it was a white lie, and therefore okay, and, well, I've been trained not to argue with Koreans.  Whatever the moral decision on the action, the result was quite fun, and almost had smiles all around (still working on Terry)... which means that Jenny managed to tie the score up: Korea 3, visitors 3.  The jury's still out as to which team she's actually striking for.

Celebrating Lisa's "birthday"

Okay.  I love you all bunches and bunches.  I hope you got what I was trying to say... but just in case you didn't here's my whole post but in man-speak (I've been playing translator here a bit):

Some situations may get you down, but change your perspective to look at the positives of it, and it will not be as bad a situation.

:)  Still waiting to know what more you want to hear.  Talk to you later.



Alex, I haven't forgotten you... I'm just waiting to write about playing my violin until after it's already happened. xoxo