Simplicity

On Thursday I took A to the Field Museum.  It was a free day and I thought it would be a good learning experience for her.  So after her school, we headed to one of my favorite places on earth... Downtown Chicago...

We had so much fun looking around and we both learned a lot.  But the reason for this entry is a reflection of my time there.

If you have ever gone to the Field, it is a cool place... It has different exhibits that feature history around the world.  And this is where my reflection starts.  I walked through many of the exhibits in awe of how people lived a long time ago.  How did they live in a teepee with those tools?  How did the Egyptians move all those bricks?  Of course they have explanations, but it was just fascinating... I got sad though as I walked along... You see a picture of how people lived so simply a long time ago and worked so hard... And we have all the means to make life simpler than those who lived a long time ago, but we are still so busy and don't have time for the important things in life.

I remember when I was at the age of dating and being serious with a guy, people around me would say how I could tell if a man would work hard by holding their hand.  If their hand was rough and scratchy then he knows hard work, but if a man had soft smooth hands, then they wouldn't know what hard work really was.  So much research shows how more and more people are just sitting behind desks.  Not that sitting behind a desk isn't hard work, but for someone to really wrestle with the earth and get down and dirty is something different.

So going back to my Field Museum reflections... I was sad and felt heavy of the fact that we humans created things to make our lives simpler only to grow farther from the one who created us.  Our lives are so easy and comfortable that we don't need God, we basically could figure it out on our own.

I just want to learn how we balance all that we could have and all that we absolutely need.  I want to  be content with what I have and use my time for the glory of God with the resources that I have...

One thing I thought of was Facebook... Such a great tool to keep up with people and connect with others, but it could really consume my time... I've wrestled with the thought of disconnecting from Facebook, but then thought how I could use it for God's glory... So I've thought of putting praises for my status update.  People will still know about my life, but it's in a way to honor God.

I want to do that more with my life...  Find ways to Glorify God!!  Thanks to the Field Museum...

Are we missing it?

Tonight I took A to Disney on Ice.  Because it was going to be a night event, I knew that she needed to nap during the day to survive this wonderful night that I had planned for her.  So on the way home from picking her up at my friend's house, I told her that we were going to go home, take a nap, wait for Eemo (my sister), go out for dinner and then go to Disney on Ice.  Of course A did not want to nap, so I told her if she didn't nap, she would not be able to go to Disney on Ice.  She in her 5 (now almost 6) year old attitude told me that she didn't want to go.  I'm not one to buy into that, so I told her that was fine and that I would find a sitter for her and Eemo and I would go on our own.  That was not what she was expecting me to say...

I tell this story because as I sat in the show (she ended up taking a nap and apologizing for her attitude), I saw her face full of excitement, joy and amazement, which I knew was going to happen.  I thought about how it would have been if she didn't nap, she would have missed out on this opportunity which I knew was going to be awesome for her.  So then as I thought about that, I thought of how many wonderful opportunities I missed at having a magical experience from God because I didn't want to "nap".  How many times has God challenged me to do something that I didn't want to do, but He knew it was going to be good for me in the long run?  How many magical moments did I miss because I had this attitude?  Are we missing it?

This week I have been talking about the story of the Prodigal Son and his older brother with a friend.  My friend specifically was lamenting the older brothers of this world...  The older brother who stayed at home and didn't mess up and did everything right...  who when his brother was forgiven and brought back into the family as if nothing happened got angry...  I'm not saying that we have to all go out and mess up like the Prodigal Son to really get it, but the older brother really missed the point.  And whether it's attitudes of not wanting to take the "nap" that is going to be good for you or feeling unfairness because the brother was forgiven... Do these attitudes play in to us missing the magical things in life that God has for us?

This is a thought I had before going to bed tonight...  Let's all be people of grace, righteousness and love!!!

Another beginning

Tomorrow my second semester starts.  I am really excited about 2012.  I sense that it will be a great year.  This is going to be a short post... I just wanted to ask for prayer... God has been leading these weeks with two words... Spirit and Truth.  I feel that this is how I am to live 2012, in spirit and truth, not that other years I wasn't supposed to live that way, but I really sense Him bringing those two words clearly into my mind as I spend time with Him.  So please pray as I start this year.... pray that I will live a life lead by the Spirit (Holy Spirit) and Truth (His word).

More Sauls

A and I pray around the world most nights.  We take her globe and put our finger on a country and pray for it. Of course having lived in a country that we truly love, our prayers are a bit more specific.  The other day I was reading in Acts and I had this epiphany and prayed.  I prayed for more Sauls in the country we once called home.  There is persecution of the church there... burned to the ground, assaults, and threats... And as I read in Acts how Saul was one of those who went around looking for believers to bring them down and had a desire to get rid of all of them... I thought how amazing our God is and how He brought Saul into His kingdom.  As soon as Saul became a follower of Christ, his life was in danger... ironic how his life became that of those he was after.  So I ask that you pray this with me.  The Sauls of the world to come to Christ and be amazing agents for the kingdom.

Some Christmas pictures

Driven

As I think about this year I wonder what drives me...  Some are driven by love, jealousy, fear, pride, shame, honor, respect...  Here are some things that drive me...

1.  I want more of Him and less of me.  I journal about this often... my life, my attitude, my everything... I want it to be about Him and not me.

2.  I don't want to mess up as a mom.  The fear of messing up my baby drives me to strive to be a good mom.  Learn all I can and do all I can for this child the Lord has entrusted me with.

3.  I am not clear of the future, but I can't wait to see what the Lord does.  I am taking this one day at a time...  school has started, but after that I'm not sure yet I have great expectations as to what will be and in order to see that, I am driven to do well.

4.  I continue to learn about myself.  I am a child of God, but there are many pieces that make me who I am in Him...  And as I continue to grow and learn about the person that God has molded me to be is an adventure.  I am a third culture kid...  and being 100% Korean and 100% American is a difficult thing and continues to be a challenge as I weigh out the cultures, traditions and values of both cultures and form it into who I want me to be.  Along with that I also have many things I have experienced in life that make me who I am and the person the Lord uses for His kingdom.  I pray I will do all I can do in what the Lord has invested in me and that is a driving factor in my life.

These are just some thoughts that I had...

being a widow... the help that comes with it

Scripture commands the church to take care of the orphans and the widows.  I have been truly blessed by those within the body that have risen to the occasion and taken care of us.  But ... I think of those God has brought into my life that aren't in the body that He has used to bless my life.  Today I got a phone call from Indonesia telling me that one of my favorite neighbors has passed away.

This man after A and I moved back to Indonesia was a man that took such good care of us.  He would walk up to our house twice a day and make sure we were okay.  If our gate was open he would  close it back up and would yell at the kids if they were bothering us and tell them that they are too loud.  He was the oldest man in our neighborhood and everyone listened to him.  He would always sit in front of his house smoking his pipe and yelling at kids.  People would always tell me to be careful, but with him around I felt safe.  I knew he was watching out for us.  

Today I got a call telling me that he wanted to hear about Jesus in his last days.  The people that live in our old house spent his last days with him, telling him about the Jesus we love and helping take care of him.  

I sit here late at night... mourning his death.  I'm so sad... Tonight I cry because I could hear his voice and so thankful for the way God has brought this wonderful man into my life to protect me in the days that I needed it the most.  From our very first year in Indonesia, he sat on his porch...  waving every time we went by.  As our language got better, P would sit and talk with him...  When it was just me and A, he took extra care of us.  Thank you!!!

Good-bye Pak (Mr.) A.